AFC Notes: Joe Burrow, Jerry Jeudy, Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

Bengals QB Joe Burrow called the Kansas City Chiefs the “gold standard” of the NFL and wants to take Cincinnati to the same level. 

“They’re the gold standard right now,” Burrow said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “They’ve been to what, six straight AFC championships and four of the last [five] Super Bowls? So that’s where we want to be.”

Burrow is trying to figure out how to mitigate injuries after dealing with a strained calf in last year’s training camp before suffering a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11. 

“I’m still kind of deciphering that in my mind, thinking about how I can mitigate that going into this year,” Burrow said. “Whether it’s gaining weight, changing my training, changing my lead-up to training camp that month before, we’re still working through all that and seeing where I want to be.”

Bengals GM Duke Tobin still feels like they are a Super Bowl-caliber team and its difficult to pick out “bright spots” from the season. 

“We expect to be there at the end, so it’s hard to pick out bright spots when you’re not where you want to be,” Tobin said. “Ultimately, we want to make the playoffs [and] put ourselves in a position to win it all.”

Browns

The Browns have shown interest in new WR Jerry Jeudy on multiple occasions over the last few seasons. The former Bronco talked about how excited he is to be in Cleveland playing with someone he’s always looked up to.

“I had heard that the Browns were interested in me even two years ago,” Jeudy said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “To hear that, and then be here now is exciting. It’s surreal. I feel like I am wanted, and the team has really made me feel welcomed. The Browns already had a great receiving corps with guys like Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore and I think I will fit in with them. Amari is actually a guy I’ve been modeling my game after since I was young and we became friends while I was at ‘Bama. I am excited to see what the future holds.”

Ravens

• Ravens GM Eric DeCosta talked about Baltimore possibly adding a receiver: “The hunt goes on. We’re trying to find good football players. We know we have the draft.” (Jeff Zrebiec)
• DeCosta also mentioned RB Keaton Mitchell is doing well in his rehab and he should be back at some point during the season. He added they’ll continue to evaluate the RB options in free agency and the draft. (Zrebiec)
• After signing RB Derrick Henry, DeCosta said they believed they had a good chance to get him last year: “To be honest, we tried to trade for Derrick [Henry] before the trade deadline.” (Andrew Siciliano)
• The Ravens signed DT Brent Urban to a one-year, $1.3775 million contract with $25k guaranteed from his signing bonus. (Over The Cap)
• According to Aaron Wilson, Urban can also earn $8,382 each game in active roster bonuses.