AFC Notes: Myles Garrett, Mike Gesicki, Trey Hendrickson, Bengals, Browns

Bengals

Bengals TE Mike Gesicki said that part of his re-signing with the team was because he wants to contend for a championship in 2025.

“Everybody’s goal in Cincinnati is to compete for a championship, and that’s another reason I wanted to come back,” Gesicki told Bengals.com. “It’s been, ‘Prove it, prove it, prove it.’ I just wanted to get in the right situation with a coach that believes in me and a quarterback that believes in me, and I found that in Cincinnati. With Zac and Joe, why go anywhere else?” 

Bengals

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson said that even though he has been granted permission to seek a trade, he wants to remain with the team where he has had the most success in his career so far. 

“I’ve been able to achieve All-Pro honors, Pro Bowl honors. It’s been a heck of a ride and to play with some of the most talented players in the league like Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Sam Hubbard, Logan Wilson, BJ Hill, I could list every player, Ted Karras is on that list too,” Hendrickson told Olivia Ray of WLWT. “I’m just tremendously blessed, the relationships I’ve made. However it shakes out, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

“Trey is super passionate,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said at the Combine last month. “It’s exactly what makes him a great football player. He is super engaged, and we’re cognizant. He’s been a great signing for us. We’ve been a great fit for him. He’s been a great fit for us. We would like to extend that. We would like to keep him not only happy but with us on a long-term basis. He’s under contract right now, and we’re going to talk as the offseason goes. Hopefully, we’ll come to an agreement that everyone’s acceptable of. But are we there yet? We’re not there yet.”

Browns

• Per Mary Kay Cabot, Browns DE Myles Garrett‘s agent, Nicole Lynn said that Garrett had a “change of heart” and is now excited to go from Cleveland to Canton while chasing a championship with the team.
• According to Jeremy Fowler, the Browns felt they could solve the issue with money and were prepared to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback by a large margin.
• Fowler adds that the Browns viewed the situation similar to that of Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, a situation that could eventually be handled.
• As for the franchise, Fowler notes that the team isn’t in a “teardown situation” and has enough pieces to be in the mix for playoff contention when healthy, now that Garrett will be returning.