AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

Browns’ secondary coach Jeff Howard said S Grant Delpit has only had around “nine-team reps” this offseason after recovering from a torn Achilles but recently sustaining a hamstring injury.

“He hasn’t really had a whole lot of snaps for us, but he was around in minicamp and he’s been around,” Howard said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “But unfortunately I think he’s had like nine-team reps up to this point, so it’s been very few and far between for Grant.”

Howard didn’t put any projections on Delpit’s return and will focus on film when evaluating players. 

“Projections, we’re not really focused on that,” Howard said. “We’re focused on the day-to-day. We’ll see what he is when he comes back. But ultimately we talk about it in our room that who we are as football players is what we put on tape. And so we’re going to make assessments off of that and not on any sort of projections.”

Ravens

Yannick Ngakoue tells Jeremy Fowler that he doesn’t think he was utilized the right way during his time with the Ravens last year.

“I feel like in Baltimore, I wasn’t utilized the right way. That rotation was kind of ugly for me,” Ngakoue said. “Pass rushers need rhythm. You have to have multiple plays to set up moves, and I felt like I didn’t have that there.”

• Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic writes that the Ravens placing first-round WR Rashod Bateman on injured reserve after he recently underwent groin surgery is a more likely scenario than him being ready to play Week 1.
• Should Baltimore IR Bateman, he would eligible to return for Week 4’s game against the Broncos on Oct 3. This would give him seven weeks to recover from surgery.
• Jeremy Fowler reports that Bateman had core muscle surgery and is currently facing a six to eight-week recovery time.

Steelers

Steelers LB Devin Bush was glad to return to action in their preseason game against the Eagles on Thursday after recovering from a torn ACL. 

“It’s good to get out there, get a feel for playing football again in a live stadium, just being out there and being with different groups of guys,” Bush said, via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It was a good experience.”

Former Steelers and new Eagles CB Steven Nelson said he doesn’t have any “bad blood” against Pittsburgh. 

“It’ll be cool to see old teammates and stuff,” Nelson. “No bad blood there. I still communicate with my teammates. I’m an Eagle now, and that’s the way it is.”