AFC Notes: Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says the expectation is still that the Bengals will get a new deal done for QB Joe Burrow in time for kickoff in Week 1. 
• Burrow on his contract status: “That’s the last thing I’m thinking about. It’s icing on the cake for me.” (Ben Baby)

Browns

Browns DE Myles Garrett wants his defense to “play freely” in 2023 and thinks everyone is “on the same page” going into the season. 

“Play freely,” said Garrett, via Scott Petrak of BrownsZone. “It’s about playing with no pressure, no burdens. It’s a new year, it’s a new team. Don’t worry about the outside noise, whether that’s offense, defense, special teams. We have the world in front of us and we have a whole bunch of talent. We have a bunch of guys that enjoy being around each other and want to see each other prosper. You don’t get that a lot across the league. You usually have some kind of a hiccup or some kind of bump in the communication or in the chemistry. Right now, everyone’s on the same page, everyone’s on board and you can’t squander opportunities you have like that. So I want to see us really just maximize the potential that we have and have fun doing it.”

Garrett is entering his seventh year with the Browns. He admits previous teams got distracted by struggles with previous coaches and offensive systems, but feels they now have a necessary “level of maturity” to stay focused. 

“I feel like the majority of us did,” Garrett said. “It’s hard not to get caught in stuff like that, but you have to have a level of maturity and focus and discipline to center yourself, center your teammates and bring everyone back on the task at hand and right the ship. And it’s easier said than done for some people, but we have a lot of leaders and a lot of people who are willing to step up and be leaders when the time comes. So I think that won’t be a problem.”

Garrett feels grateful for still being in Cleveland and being surrounded by good people. 

“I’m very grateful for still being here and happy I still get to play this game with this group of guys,” Garrett said. “And it was very possible, if things were slightly different, the effect could have been majorly different. So very grateful that I had such a good group of people around me, friends, family, organization that was here for me when I needed it. And I had to adjust my game that season to compensate for things that I was going through. But I feel like we’re now full-tilt and I can give my all to my team how it should be.”

Ravens

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is fully healthy and ready for the season opener against Houston.

“I’m back. I feel like I’m better. A hundred percent. So I’m ready to show it,” Jackson said, via PFT.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh is encouraged with the progress that Jackson has made in new OC Todd Monken‘s offense this offseason.

“Lamar’s his own man,” Harbaugh said. “Lamar is a confident guy, and he’s confident because he’s another guy that works so hard at it. I mean, Lamar has put everything into it. He’s been out here. He’s been studying day and night. He’s been working on all his fundamentals. And he’s ready to go. Like we said last week, he’s ready to be on point with everything he does. I think Todd and he, they get along great. They’ve got to be like that. They are like that. They talk a lot, and we’ll see what happens. It’s not just one game either. We’re talking about a whole season in front of us.”