Bengals

Regarding Bengals third-round G Dylan Fairchild and fifth-round G Jalen Rivers, OC Dan Pitcher said both players have had encouraging starts to their careers, but there is still a lot of room to grow 

“What I don’t want it to feel like is there’s some sense that we’ve arrived or that (Fairchild and Rivers) are accomplished because we haven’t,” Pitcher said via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “But they’re doing the right things and that’s encouraging. And so we got to keep pointing in that direction and just keep putting the hard work in and not worry about how we’re perceived, and we’re playing well, we’re not playing well, just do the work. Just do the work and everything will work out.”

Browns

Paul DePodesta departed as the Browns’ chief strategy officer to become the Colorado Rockies’ president of baseball operations. DePodesta was asked about his role in Cleveland acquiring QB Deshaun Watson, responding that it was a collective decision by the organization. 

“Here’s what I would say, and I truly believe this,” DePodesta said, via Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. “I believe that most of the decisions, especially the big ones like that, are organizational decisions, right? I’m not a believer in the ‘King Scout’ situation where there is one guy who makes every call. . . . The jobs are too complex, the decisions are too hard. They impact too many different things. So I always think these sort of collective decisions, it can be hard to get unanimous [opinions] on those types of things. Everyone who was a part of that? We all own that. We just do, that’s part of the deal.”

DePodesta said he enjoys being a part of rebuilding projects. 

“I’ve used this phrase before, but I’m a bit of a sucker for a challenge,” DePodesta said. “The reality is that’s usually the situation. That’s why these jobs become available. I have been part of (a rebuild) a number of different times. And I actually really enjoy it. I love winning — don’t get me wrong, that’s ultimately where I want to get to — but building that, getting to the winning, is incredibly gratifying. So that was absolutely part of the attraction.”

As for why he decided to leave the Browns and return to MLB, DePodesta explained that he wanted to unique challenge with Cleveland and knew it would take him a while to adjust to an NFL front office. 

 “The reason I left wasn’t because I was done or I was tired of baseball or anything like that. It was, I thought, a unique challenge. I didn’t have immediate plans, obviously, to come back to baseball. I knew it was going to take me a while to get my sea legs in the NFL. It wasn’t going to be like a two-year thing. I was starting from ground zero. I mean, I knew nothing, so I was going to have to dedicate some real years to it. But, you know, your first love, you kind of always have that in the back of your mind. And there were certain situations in baseball that I’ve just always been really intrigued by. I thought, boy, if that were ever available, that would be pretty intriguing. And so this was one of those.”

Ravens

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the Ravens and C Tyler Linderbaum have discussed an extension, but have not moved within striking distance of a deal yet. Linderbaum is viewed by his peers and other league evaluators as a top 10 interior offensive lineman, so he’d do very well for himself if he hit the open market. 
• Ravens DT Travis Jones is another potential high-end free agent, with one NFC executive telling Fowler: “He’s awesome. Very tough to block, elite run stopper. A wide-bodied guy who has enough pass rush.”
• Fowler notes the Ravens could try to re-sign Jones, but they’ve also been a team that isn’t afraid to let certain players walk and replace them in-house. 
• Fowler mentions other teams wouldn’t be surprised if the Ravens used the franchise tag on TE Isaiah Likely.
• Per Brian Wacker, Ravens WR Rashod Bateman will not play in Week 10 against the Browns due to a right ankle injury.
• Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Lamar Jackson “should be good” for Week 11 despite dealing with knee soreness, via Jeff Zrebeic.
• Harbaugh said CB Marlon Humphrey has been ruled out from Week 11 after having his finger “pinned.” (Zrebeic)