AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

• According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns recently hosted DT Al Woods but he left without signing a contract with the team as they remain unsure if they will add yet another defensive tackle this offseason.
• Ryan Fowler reports that the Browns are hosting UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson for a visit.
• According to Aaron Wilson, Houston WR Tank Dell has met with the Bills, Browns, Cowboys, Texans, and Titans.

Ravens

The Ravens have a huge need at receiver this offseason and took the first step in addressing it by signing veteran WR Nelson Agholor. Although Agholor hasn’t lived up to his status as a former first-round pick, he’s established himself as a solid veteran deep threat who should be a solid mentor for a young group in Baltimore, including WR Rashod Bateman. However, Ravens HC John Harbaugh acknowledged they have plenty more work to do. 

“I think he’s going to be great for a young receiver room. Him and Rashod now,” Harbaugh said via the Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. “We’re not done. We’re not done at all. We like the guys we’ve got coming back as well: (Devin) Duvernay and (James) Proche, all the guys. I think he’s going to be a good addition for us. I’m excited about it, but that’s just one piece. It’s one step.”

Baltimore will be banking a lot on Bateman taking a step forward and staying healthy in 2023. They also had to smooth things over with him earlier this offseason when Bateman took issue with a comment from GM Eric DeCosta about their lack of a No. 1 receiver. 

“I had a great conversation with Rashod about (his tweet), a little bit about that and a lot about other things,” Harbaugh said. “He’s in a great place. He’s healthy. He’s going to be running in three weeks. He’s going to be ready to roll stronger than ever, healthier than ever. Rashod’s going to have a great season. I’m a big believer in Rashod Bateman. He’s going to come back ready to roll.”

Steelers

The Steelers have a lot of high hopes for their offense in 2023 based on the development of young players, and a big part of that will be WR George Pickens. The production with Pickens was solid, with 52 catches for 801 yards and four touchdowns, but the flashes were even better. 

“If he displays that understanding, it’s reasonable to expect there to be an uptick in production and productivity and play,” Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said via the Athletic’s Mark Kaboly. “We’re expecting big things from George, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say we expect big things from a lot of guys, particularly those that played as much as George did in 2022. There are reasons to expect him to grow and have a more increasingly significant role than we do. I don’t think any of us will be surprised by things he does, and there is an expectation that progress continues.”

The old man of the group is Steelers WR Diontae Johnson, who’s coming off a record-setting 2022 season, just not in a good way. Johnson had 86 receptions for 882 yards and no touchdowns, the most catches any player has ever had without scoring. Tomlin says touchdowns were hard to come by for them last year. 

“It was probably a reflection of us and where we were, and I have been pretty transparent about that,” Tomlin said. “We were very much a unit and a squad in development a year ago and we don’t apologize for that. We did what we had to do to make ourselves competitive and especially down the stretch putting ourselves in a position to win. It provides us a platform in which we can grow, and those are intentions.”