Browns

Browns QB Shedeur Sanders said he was grateful for all the experiences he had during his rookie year and said that he learned a lot from QB Joe Flacco and the rest of the room.

“I’ve already gained (a lot) here (just) talking to a lot of great players, seeing Joe Flacco again, just meeting people,” Sanders said, via The Athletic. “It’s a great environment. I’m excited to be here. This (whole) year is my introduction to life in a different perspective, so I was thankful for it. I was thankful that everything happened how it happened because it helped me out as a person.”

Patriots

Drake Maye emerged as an MVP candidate, leading New England to the Super Bowl in his second year as the Patriots’ quarterback. New England HC Mike Vrabel said he recognized Maye’s talent before his arrival, saying the quarterback was one reason he took the job. 

“I probably realized that before I got here,” Vrabel said, via PFT. “It’s a large part of the reason I wanted to be here. There were plays in training camp he made, the accuracy outside the pocket or on the move, the way he plays the position, he has an athletic nature to the way he plays. I think that’s somewhat unique. Everybody has a different skill set, he’s comfortable in the pocket, he has the ability to transfer up in the pocket, to make moves, to make throws off platform and at different angles.”

Patriots

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson began his time under new HC Mike Vrabel under difficult circumstances after his father passed away in March. Vrabel reflected on Stevenson’s situation, praising RBs coach Tony Dews for the care he showed and Stevenson for the effort he put forward. 

“I think there’s things that come up that you’re not really prepared for, and to have Rhamondre have something that traumatic happen to him and his family, and him not know us as people, was hard,” Vrabel said, via NFL.com. “And to try to support somebody that — he doesn’t know where we’re coming from, he doesn’t know Mike Vrabel, he doesn’t know (running backs coach) Tony Dews – other than taking some faith that we’re looking out for him as a person, and we’re looking out for him and his family, and what’s best and how they handle it, and try to do everything that we could to get him in a place that he could come, do his job, perform and glorify his dad. He’s done that every single day. I’m proud of him. I can’t imagine how that felt and what that still feels like. We’re lucky to have people like Tony Dews who care deeply about not only his position but everybody on this football team, coaches and staff. And Tony — he would have gone the second that I told him. It was just like, give him a little bit of time. Let’s just wait. And finally, it worked out for Tony to go out there and be with Rhamondre and his family. Obviously, very appreciative of Tony.”

Stevenson said Vrabel, Dews, and LB Jahlani Tavai were highly supportive of him following his father’s passing. 

“They had so much support and they’re so instrumental in where I am today and how I handle myself and carry myself with that situation,” Stevenson said. “I’ll give it to Tavai, Jahlani Tavai. He was there for me a lot, just checking on me almost every day, man, just when I walked through that locker room, he just made sure I’m good, made sure my head was right. I appreciate him for that and I love him for that.”

Tavai took it upon himself to check on Stevenson after he heard the tragic news. 

“When I saw the news, I just wanted to check up on him,” Tavai said. “Not sure if anybody did, but those times, losing somebody, you get put in a dark place. Sometimes you just need a helping hand, so however I was able to help, I just wanted to lend a helping hand.”