Bengals

Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr. spoke about the reaction of the locker room when his former teammate with the Ravens, QB Joe Flacco, joined the team this season.

“He’s got way more superstar notoriety today than he did then… when he came into our locker room… I couldn’t believe a guy, like, Ja’Marr Chase‘s reaction… Everybody was a Flacco fan, man,” Brown told Ryan Ripken.

Brown appeared on The Ryan Ripken Show and commented on being traded by the Ravens to the Chiefs earlier in his career, noting that he always wanted to be in Baltimore.

“That was the hardest thing for me to do in my career… As I mentioned, I was living out my dream… I always wanted to be a Raven… the reality is that it came down to for me is Ronnie Stanley at the time, and even still to this day, is one of the best left tackles in football.”

Browns

Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who represented over two dozen sexual assault cases against Browns QB Deshaun Watson, said the defense team reached a settlement with at least one of the remaining cases, with the other being dismissed.

“We reached a settlement,” Buzbee said, via ESPN. “That’s all I can say about it, and all that needs to be said.”

Steelers

• New Steelers HC Mike McCarthy ranked in fourth place on The Athletic‘s list of offseason hires. An anonymous executive and coach both weighed in on Pittsburgh’s hire.
• “McCarthy has won games everywhere he’s been,” the executive said. “It’s the coolest story ever to coach Green Bay, Dallas and Pittsburgh. He grew up there. It’s really cool. He’s a really good man. I assume they’ll play the same defense and same schematics. Can you fix the QB position and get some youth?”
• “Everyone expected a long-term hire, but Mike can be a great hire for the short term to get the organization in the right direction,” the coach said. “With or without Rodgers, he will be good to give the offense an identity.”