AFC Notes: Joe Mixon, Dalvin Tomlinson, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

• Paul Dehner Jr. on the contract of Bengals RB Joe Mixon: “The endgame will be about whether or not he’s willing to realign his $12.8 million cap hit and $10 million in cash to the current state of the running back market. If he’s not, the Bengals will probably tap into the veteran backwaters that are currently overflowing with victims of the philosophical shift away from paying the position.”

Browns

Browns DT Dalvin Tomlinson is excited about DC Jim Schwartz‘s system and thinks it allows him to be explosive in the interior line. 

“Most definitely,” Tomlinson said, via Ashley Bastock. “Just being a big, powerful guy when they just tell you to go and explode off the ball, you get to use your weight to your advantage I guess at that point and get to use all your power and you don’t have to just sit there catching blocks. Super excited and I can’t wait for it.”

Tomlinson feels like he hasn’t had a coach as involved in team drills as Schwartz has been this offseason. 

“I had a few (coaches do that) over the years, but coach Schwartz takes it to a new level I feel like,” Tomlinson said. “I feel like sometimes he might be the 12th man on the field.”

Tomlinson said Schwartz wants his defense to “play fast” and will have a lot of rotations. 

“Just play fast,” Tomlinson said. “We’ll rotate if you get tired, but every play giving a hundred percent no matter what and just make sure we’re running. Get to the ball and cardio is going to be a big thing for everybody.”

Steelers

Steelers veteran CB Patrick Peterson is in his first season with the team and believes that QB Kenny Pickett has the ability to take them far along with some of the other offensive weapons in Pittsburgh.

“I believe he is a guy that we can rely on, a guy who we can count on,” Peterson told Jim Rome. “Now it’s going to all fall on him if he can go out there and show us what he’s capable of doing. What it’s going to come down to is we have all the pieces that we need on defense. We know defense wins championships. We have talent across the board on the offensive side of the ball. I believe the front office did a great job of getting what we needed in the draft as far as getting Broderick (Jones) in the first round, a left tackle, a young pup who you should expect to see play a lot. You added Allen Robinson, you got Diontae Johnson, you got George Pickens, you got Najee (Harris). You know it’s all going to come down to how well Kenny can play and can he put the ball where it needs to go.”