AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

Browns G Wyatt Teller said he’s excited for the 2021 season given their offense has 11 returning players, a talented backfield with RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, to go along with their strong defensive linemen. 

“We have 11 guys on offense returning, which is insane — I’ve never heard of that,” Teller said, via Anthony Poisal of the team’s official site. “We’ve got the guys in the backfield who can do it at a high level … and if the best D-Line I play is our own team, I’ll be very, very happy.”

Teller added that he’s grateful to play alongside the offensive linemen on the Browns, like LT Jedrick Wills, LG Joel Bitonio, C J.C. Tretter, and RT Jack Conklin. 

“I’ve been blessed to be put in a situation where we have great guys around me and I just have to do my job,” Teller said. “I don’t have to do anything else but my job, and that’s a blessing.”

Ravens

• The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec expects the Ravens to retain TE Mark Andrews one way or another after this season, either with a contract extension or the franchise tag.
• He adds a long-term deal for Andrews will likely fall somewhere between the $12.5 million the Patriots handed out to their new pair of tight ends in free agency and 49ers TE George Kittle‘s $15 million a year that currently ranks first at the position.
• While Ravens CB Anthony Averett hasn’t played more than 33 percent of the snaps in any of his three seasons, Zrebiec points out the team loves him and believes he’s an ascending player, so he could be more of a priority to extend than one might think. 
• If Bradley Bozeman‘s transition from guard to center goes well this season, Zrebiec says he’s a strong extension candidate for the Ravens. He’s active in the community and wants to stay in Baltimore as well. 
• However, if the Ravens don’t want or can’t afford to pay Bozeman $10 million or more a season, Zrebiec notes the team has had success finding interior offensive linemen in the later rounds. Bozeman himself was a sixth-round pick and the Ravens have a lot of depth on the interior right now. 
• Zrebiec mentions Ravens DL Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams and Justin Ellis are all free agents in 2022 and Baltimore probably would prefer to bring back at least one member of that group. But Campbell and Williams are at the age where it’s far from a guarantee that they return. 
• Ravens S DeShon Elliott is a favorite of the coaching staff and popular in the locker room, but Zrebiec thinks the team will wait to see if he can stay healthy and take another step forward in his development in his contract year in 2021. 
• Zrebiec mentions the Ravens should be able to get a new deal done with FB Patrick Ricard but if his price drifts too high, they have insurance with fifth-round FB/TE Ben Mason. 

Steelers

Big Red Rage host Ron Wolfley‘s brother Craig works as a sideline reporter for the Steelers, and says that HC Mike Tomlin was “heartbroken” over losing RB James Conner to the Cardinals, believing he had the ability to be the Steelers “bell cow.”

“Mike Tomlin absolutely was heartbroken that they couldn’t get something done, heartbroken that James Conner was actually walking out of that organization,” Wolfley said on Big Red Rage.