AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

• CBS Sports analyst and former agent Joel Corry points out that Browns QB Deshaun Watson‘s five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract is comparable to deals for top NBA players and might be the single most impactful transaction of the salary cap era. 
• Browns GM Andrew Berry said that they don’t have a “specific timetable” to make a decision on Baker Mayfield: “I wouldn’t say we have a specific timetable for the QB room. Baker is a professional, he’s under contract, and we have the [cap] flexibility whether he’s on the roster or not. So we don’t really feel pressed to rush into anything that’s suboptimal.” (Zac Jackson)
• New Browns backup QB Jacoby Brissett signed for one year at $4.65 million including $4.5 million guaranteed, a $3 million signing bonus, a salary of $1.5 million guaranteed, and up to $1.5 million in playing-time incentives. (Aaron Wilson)
• Browns G Ethan Pocic‘s one-year, $1.187 million deal includes a $1.015 million salary with $895,000 guaranteed and $312,500 in playing-time incentives. (Wilson)

Ravens

Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti had high praise of HC John Harbaugh after signing him to a three-year extension.

“No interest in having him go lame duck on me here. It’s not fair to him,” Bisciotti said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “I think John’s grown and grown and grown. It’s kind of interesting. I don’t feel like I’m just signing up the same guy. I think that’s really a compliment to him. I really feel like there’s a rebirth in John as the years go on. Things that mattered to him don’t matter as much anymore. I’m just thrilled as an owner to have a guy that’s going to be going into his 15th year. So, I’m pretty pleased with it.”

Bisciotti said that they did not expect to make a playoff run last season despite starting with an 8-3 record. 

“I was really good emotionally with it, because I kind of didn’t think we necessarily deserved to be 8-3. I thought we had gotten very fortunate,” Bisciotti said. “I didn’t have real high hopes of a playoff run when you’re that depleted. I wanted it for John more than me, because he’s in there, grinding this out, trying to make them believe they’ve still got enough weapons to fight that war. My admiration for them, the players and the coaches, was just so high. It was hard to be depressed when your pride level is high. You recognize the reality of that situation. It was like, ‘Oh, well, we’ll take what we get.’ And then when the season is over, it’s like, ‘Oh, we get the 14th pick in the draft. That’s kind of nice. We don’t get many of them.’”

As for Lamar Jackson not initiating contract negotiations with the organization, Bisciotti speculated that their quarterback could take a similar approach to Vikings QB Kirk Cousins and play on consecutive franchise tags. 

“Kirk Cousins did it that way. What if Lamar says that? ‘I’ll play on the fifth year. I’ll play on the franchise (tag), I’ll play on another franchise (tag) and then you can sign me. And that gives me three years to win the Super Bowl so you can make me a $60 million quarterback because that’s where it will be four years from now.’ That might be the case, but I don’t talk to Lamar. It’s not my role. I don’t know the answer.”

Steelers

• The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette thinks there’s about a 50-50 chance the Steelers take a quarterback in the first round. 
• Bouchette is doubtful the Steelers will sign S Tyrann Mathieu and instead thinks there’s a better chance S Terrell Edmunds is re-signed. 
• Bouchette also says the Steelers should trade QB Mason Rudolph if they can get anything for him, as if they draft a quarterback Rudolph will be third on the depth chart.