AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Ravens

Ravens HC John Harbaugh spoke at length about the contract negotiations involving QB Lamar Jackson during a recent media appearance.

“He’s a unique guy,” Harbaugh said on The Rich Eisen Show. “People have been scratching their heads and trying to figure out Lamar probably for a long time, you know, ever since he was a kid. And he’s got his way of going about doing things. But that’s what you love about him, it’s what I love about him. Get him on here and ask him. Maybe he’ll tell you.

“When he’s ready to do it, it’s going to become a priority for him, then we’re gonna know it, you know?” Harbaugh added. “It doesn’t have to be a priority for us right now. It’s got to be a priority for both sides. We can do something, or we can wait. Because we know it’s gonna get done when it’s supposed to get done. Hey, when it’s God’s will and Lamar’s will at the same time, it’s gonna all fit together. I do believe Lamar when he tells me that, man, he just wants to be the best quarterback he can be, and that’s what he’s thinking about right now. He doesn’t think he has to think about his contract. He feels like he’s got time to do it. Yeah, you could argue that one way or the other. But everybody gets to make that decision for themselves. That’s a great thing. That’s his choice, not somebody else’s.”

Harbaugh also took a shot at all of the speculation about Jackson’s motivations, reiterating again that Jackson essentially isn’t ready to do a deal now. He mentioned the last real discussions he had on the matter were right after the season ended.

“I’ll tell you what, all the pundits out there . . . if you want to talk about your particular contract situation and how you’re doing with your salary and when you’re gonna go ask your boss for a raise and all that, maybe we can all talk about that back and forth and have that conversation,” Harbaugh said. “But in the end, the person gets to decide for themselves, you know? So that’s what Lamar’s doing. I think it’s kind of funny and cool and fascinating how everybody wants to talk about it and speculate on it, but it’s really pretty simple, I think. He’s not ready, you know? And when he’s ready, we’ll be ready. And when that happens, we’ll have something. We had a serious conversation at the end of the season with Lamar and Eric and myself. And he made it pretty clear where he was at with it and what he wanted to do this offseason, and that was really the last formal one we had.”

Steelers

• The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly writes the Steelers will need to draft a receiver, probably on Day 2, to make up for the losses they’ve had at the position this offseason. J.J. Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud all departed in free agency and so far Pittsburgh has added just Gunner Olszewski, who profiles as a replacement for McCloud in the slot and return game. 
• Pittsburgh has had some misses at receiver but also a number of high-profile hits, which HC Mike Tomlin alluded to: “But you know, the acquisition of wideouts is something that we’re comfortable with.”
• Kaboly notes the historic sweet spot for the Steelers has been in the second and third rounds. Some options projected to go in that range who could intrigue Pittsburgh include Penn State’s Jahan Dotson, Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore, South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert, Georgia’s George Pickens, Alabama’s John Metchie and Boise State’s Khalil Shakir.