AFC Notes: George Pickens, Bengals, Browns QB Competition, Steelers

Bengals

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano thinks “there’s still a decent chance” DE Trey Hendrickson is with the Bengals in 2025, but Hendrickson isn’t happy with their current assessment of his value. 
• Bengals’ first-round DE Shemar Stewart and second-round LB Demetrius Knight missed the team’s rookie minicamp as they still haven’t signed their rookie contracts. The organization issued a statement to Kelsey Conway of  The Enquirer, saying they expect the situation will be resolved as more first-round picks finalize deals: “We expect that as other first-round draft picks get signed, this will get resolved.”

Browns

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said that he thought both rookie quarterbacks, third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders, have done a nice job so far and warned reporters not to look into who is getting a majority of the snaps or the first snap of the day (Gabriel led things off at rookie minicamp).

“Yeah, I wouldn’t look into anything,” Stefanski said, via Pro Football Talk. “I think you’ll see the whole weekend, going through the spring. I mean, we don’t pay too close attention to who’s in that first snap. There are plenty of reps. There’s a lot of time between now and September, so we’ll have a plan. But it’s an all-encompassing evaluation. It’s not something that it’s just based on the practice reps. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Browns GM Andrew Berry is aware that Sanders is more popular as a fifth-round pick than anyone else in the club’s draft class, but says that he is focused on earning a spot on the roster.

“I know it leads to a lot of conversation and interest in the media and externally — and understandably so,” Berry said. “But for us, we always talk about tuning out the external issues. That doesn’t really matter in terms of how we work, how we prepare. And in terms of Shedeur, his big thing is making the team and earning a role. Listening to the outside noise does nothing to help accomplish those…We’ve typically taken four quarterbacks into camp. Now, the rep distribution had always been maybe a little bit different because we had a clearer or at least entrenched starter. And so this year, obviously, is a little bit different. But I think they’ve done a really nice job of designing the offseason programing and I think the plans that we have for training camp and the preseason, there will be plenty of reps to evaluate all four of those passers.”

Steelers

• Steelers GM Omar Khan says trading away WR George Pickens happened quickly after the Cowboys made a proposal, adding that Pickens did not request a trade: “We had conversations internally and with George’s agent….this trade makes sense for everyone.” (Nick Farabaugh)
• Khan says the Steelers had a “lot of honest conversations” with Pickens, and told him that it was time for both sides to have a fresh start. (Farabaugh)
• Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the trade: “I’m not going to add any color to it other than what Omar told you guys yesterday. We thought it was best and timely for all parties involved. Really, I’m just focused on the opportunity that is this weekend for the rookies.” (Jordan Schultz)
• Khan said if the team has an opportunity to add another playmaker, they will, but they feel comfortable now given their depth with veteran WR Robert Woods. (Fittipaldo)
• Woods signed a one-year deal with the team worth $1,255,000 in base salary with a prorated signing bonus of $745,000 and will carry a cap number of $2,000,000 for the season. (OTC)
• According to Mark Kaboly, some in the Steelers’ locker room were fed up with the antics of WR George Pickens during his time with the team.
• Kaboly adds that few teams were interested in trading for Pickens, with the Steelers unwilling to part with him for anything less than a third-round pick.
• There were few in the organization who were upset when the team opted to trade Pickens when an offer came in from the Cowboys.
• Mark Kaboly of The Athletic believes there was more going on behind the scenes with the Steelers and WR George Pickens before he was dealt: “I got a sense that it was a little bit more uglier than you thought — behind closed doors… If you’re hearing [Pickens’ antics] that people are saying, imagine the stuff that you’re not hearing. I think there’s a lot of stuff that we still don’t know. After all this went through, saying ‘Oh geez, if you would’ve known this, [the trade] would have made a ton of sense.'” (93.7 The Fan)