AFC Notes: Ja’Marr Chase, Nick Chubb, Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase recently had a harsh response to questions about their offense’s inability to finish drives following its 34-27 loss to the Chargers, saying to ask HC Zac Taylor about their playcalling. Taylor doesn’t think Chase meant to insult him and praised his honesty. 

“He’s emotional, and when you got a guy that works as hard as he does, leaves it all on the field, I do think things – I don’t want to say ‘misconstrued’ – but can look differently than what they really are,” Taylor said via SI.com’s Jay Morrison. “He’s a guy that is one of the most genuine players I’ve ever been around and honest, insightful, puts it all out there for us. I don’t have problems with guys that work as hard as they do, speaking with emotion after the game, speaking with passion.”

Taylor expanded on why he doesn’t take issue with Chase’s comments, saying he wants to be “proactive” about how they are using him. 

“Because there’s not a non-relationship there with the player,” Taylor said. “These are things that we try to be proactive about, to put these guys in the best position possible to succeed. And I feel very confident we put Ja’Marr in the best position possible to succeed. He’s first in every category there is. We make a conscious effort to involve him and make sure he’s always a big part of that.”

Taylor added he enjoys the dialogue with Chase and thinks he’s showing leadership qualities. 

“I always love the dialogue with him in terms of gameplan, how we’re going to use you,” Taylor said. “I think he’s come a long way. He’s not a captain with it on his chest, but in so many ways, he acts like one. So again, I don’t ever hold against a player when they’re after a game having an emotional response.”

• Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, the belief in league circles is that the Bengals got close to extending Chase this summer but ultimately the guarantee structure on their offer wasn’t what he had in mind. 

Browns

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said the return of RB Nick Chubb lit a spark in the locker room with his resilience and dedication after suffering a major knee injury.

“Nick’s a pretty special football player,” Stefanski said, via ESPN. “He’s a pretty special person. I think he embodies a lot of what we want to be as Cleveland Browns and certainly I think our fans feel that from him. And for me, from my chair, I get to watch him work, and I get to see the fruits of his labor. … So, I’ve gotten to witness this journey, if you will, from back to last year and how hard he’s worked. So, I think that just resonates with our fan base.”

Browns C Ethan Pocic noted that Chubb’s return was great to see because he saw how hard Chubb worked to rehab his injury.

“It was just a cool moment, because I see how hard he works,” Pocic said. “It’s surprising but it’s not surprising that it’s him doing it. He’s tough as nails, works so hard, so it wasn’t surprising at the end of the day because that’s who he is.”

Chubb added that he’s feeling more and more like his old self with each passing day.

“Every time I go out there, practice or a game, I feel a little better. I feel good now,” Chubb said. “… I just need to go out there and keep doing what I’m doing and being patient and it will come.”

Ravens

Ravens K Justin Tucker is still confident in his abilities, despite missing some key field goals this season.

“I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” Tucker said, via PFT. “Part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process. I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success — is just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.”