AFC Notes: Browns Teammate Hopeful Myles Garrett Changes Mind, Bengals & Ravens Cut Candidates

Bengals

• Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic mentions that DT Sheldon Rankins will be one of several veterans the team moves on from this offseason and will let Rankins go before his roster bonus is due on March 17th.
• ESPN’s Dan Graziano pointed out that the Eagles just won a Super Bowl paying two top-flight wide receivers, so it stands to reason that the Bengals could fit both Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase extensions into their salary cap.
• The key hurdle for Cincinnati is their reluctance to extend guaranteed money beyond the first year of a contract, per Graziano, as it’s unlikely either Chase or Higgins will accept a deal that doesn’t have guarantees beyond the first year of the contract.

Browns

Browns CB Greg Newsome II is hopeful Myles Garrett will rescind his trade request if Cleveland can land a quarterback this offseason. 

“I definitely think like Denzel (Ward) and everybody has talked about, you’ve just got to solidify that quarterback position,” Newsome said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “You see the Commanders are pretty much right there to the get to the Super Bowl because they got that quarterback. The defense is the same defense. It’s just certain times we’re on the field a lot more when we didn’t have a stable person back there the entire time.”

Browns’ fellow CB Denzel Ward recently said he wants to see how this offseason plays out before deciding on his future with the team. When asked if Garrett’s request rattled him as it did for Ward, Newsome responded he trusts the front office will make moves to improve the team. 

“Yes and no,” Newsome said. “(Ward) probably has different conversations than I have with the owner and the higher-ups just because of who he is, so obviously just being upset for sure. Losing a guy like that, you’re in an automatic, pretty much I feel like, rebuild if you lose one of the best players in the league. So definitely it will shake some stuff up, but I trust the guys in the front office to make hard decisions that are going to benefit this team.”

Newsome isn’t upset at Garrett for his trade request and understands where the star edge rusher is coming from. 

“When I first saw the news, obviously pretty much no one wants their best player, the best defensive player in the league to request a trade,” Newsome said. “But at the end of the day, it’s his life, it’s his feelings. He obviously expects a lot from this organization, he expects a lot from his teammates and we don’t feel no type of way because we understand he has been one of the core guys that we’ve been with and I just hope the best for him. I know how he’s a little bit later in his career than I am, so I know he’s had a lot of maturing, a lot of losing, a lot of winning in this organization, so whatever happens for him, I just wish the best for him.”

Ravens

• On paper, ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes Ravens TE Mark Andrews is a potential cut candidate. Andrews has been outperformed at times by TE Isaiah Likely and is set to make $11 million in 2025, which includes a $4 million roster bonus due on March 17th and the rest in salary. The Ravens could save $11 million in cap space by cutting Andrews because his salary isn’t guaranteed.
• However, Andrews is still a solid contributor and has a strong history with the team, which Graziano says will matter in how this plays out. The two sides could come together on a reworked contract that would keep him in Baltimore.