AFC Notes: Derrick Henry, Kevin Stefanski, Deshaun Watson, Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

Bengals HC Zac Taylor took pride in the team’s defense in their win over the Giants and wants to see similar performances from the unit going forward. 

“What I see every single day of the week – just a resilient group that goes about it the right way, believes in each other, believes in what we’re doing,” Taylor said, via Pro Football Talk. “And that’s what I expect to see from those guys. And this was a great way – on Sunday Night Football, in front of the world – for them to show who they are because that’s what we see every day, and that’s the blueprint.”

Browns

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said before Week 6 that he’s given no consideration to possibly benching QB Deshaun Watson.

“I know you can take out plays and look at that and there’s obviously plays that Deshaun wants back,” Stefanski said, via PFT. “There’s calls that I want back. That happens in the course of a game. We just have to do our best from a coaching perspective, from a player’s perspective, to execute what’s out there.”

Watson said he doesn’t hear calls for him to be benched in favor of QB Jameis Winston. Many fans have taken to the team’s social media to voice their frustrations over the past few weeks.

“I don’t hear it,” Watson said Wednesday. “I don’t see it, so I’m not on Twitter. I’m not on any social media or things like that. So anytime that stuff comes up, the only time I first hear it is either you guys are bringing it up or somebody else outside [the building], and I just don’t know who it’s coming from.”

Now that the team sustained another loss to the Eagles, Stefanski has been asked again about benching Watson and said he thought the quarterback had good moments during the game.

“I thought there were some good moments,” Stefanski said, via PFT. “You know, we need to protect. We need to keep him clean when we can. That’s a good front. I thought the guys battled like crazy. Had some decent opportunities there, but got to find a way to be more explosive.”

• When reflecting on the notion of Watson being traded from Cleveland, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk writes there’s no way Watson gets traded under his current contract with $46 million fully guaranteed in 2025 and $46 million guaranteed in 2026.
• Florio notes a trade before June 1 results in a cap acceleration of $80.77 million in 2025.  
• If Watson wants out badly enough, Florio points out the quarterback would likely have to revise his contract to reduce his salary, but that seems unlikely. 
• Browns DT Michael Hall Jr. commented on the incident that led to his suspension for the first time: “It was just an unfortunate event. I just have to control what I can control as a man and a person and just move forward. I’ll continue going to counseling and all that, it’s been a real help.” (Scott Petrak)
• Hall when asked if he wanted to push back against any of the serious allegations made against him in the police report: “No.” (Petrak)

Ravens

The Ravens offense fired on cylinders Sunday, with big plays coming from TE Mark Andrews, WR Zay Flowers, and RB Derrick Henry. Henry applauded the team for being able to execute in both the run and pass to get the job done against Washington.

“I feel like everything was working; it was like, ‘Pick your poison,’ Henry said, via Pro Football Talk. “Everybody did a great job of being locked in and executing. Hats off to everybody on offense of putting plays together and being able to field these drives to put ourselves in a position to win.”