AFC Notes: Deshaun Watson, Tyler Boyd, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals WR Tyler Boyd spoke about the injury that he suffered in the AFC Championship game.

“I ended up getting a deep thigh bruise from getting kneed, and it sucked because I did everything I could to try and come back from numbing cream to ibuprofen. I felt like I couldn’t at least be eighty percent, and I didn’t want to go out there and not be on the same page as Joe (Burrow), and I felt we had enough depth that we could play at a faster pace than what I felt I could go out there and do,” Boyd said, per Kelsey Conway.

Browns

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski refused to compare this offseason and last year’s for Deshaun Watson but thinks he’s done well to learn the playbook. 

“I don’t think it’s fair to compare,” Stefanski said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I would just tell you he’s done a really nice job throughout this entire offseason of being diligent about understanding playbook, understanding his teammates every single day. … There are always going to be things that you want to get back and do a little bit differently. That’s no different than every player at every position, but he’s right where he needs to be.”

Browns TE Jordan Akins thinks Watson has shown good rhythm, ability to throw downfield, and read defenses. 

“Great rhythm throws,” Akins said. “Deep ball throw, he’s great at that. The defense, he’s really good at it. He can read defense, pick apart defense. When we get the mismatches, he’ll find the mismatches. Whenever he seem like he’s surrounded, he’s going down, somehow, he pops out. So you got to stay on your feet, stay moving downfield and be ready to make a play at all times.”

Stefanski thinks the reps Watson and new WR Elijah Moore have this offseason will be beneficial going forward. 

“As you add new players, and adding Elijah to the mix, you want as a quarterback, all these reps — you take mental notes and you’re thinking about how a player came out of this route, how he came out of that route,” Stefanski said. “Every single rep, whether it’s individual period or it’s in a team period or it’s in a 7-on-7, you’re constantly adding that to the checklist, if you will, so that you get to understand your players, because that’s important. We may run a six-step route, and the six steps that Player A takes are a little bit longer than the six steps that Player B takes.”

Steelers

Steelers owner Art Rooney said the organization has a goal to play a game in Ireland at some point in the future. 

“Our aspirations long term are to play a game in Ireland,” Rooney said, via ProFootballTalk. “As we move through the process, we’ll be evaluating all options.”