Bengals
Bengals HC Zac Taylor thinks they will find defensive packages to get all of their pass rushers on the field. Cincinnati used a first-round pick on Myles Murphy and added him to a group that already includes Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard and Joseph Ossai.
“You can get to third-down situations and find packages where they’re all [playing],” Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “It’s not giving guys a break, necessarily. It’s getting as many on the field as you can. So I think it’s good to have as many guys that can affect the quarterback and play up front as possible.”
Bengals DT D.J. Reader thinks their defense does well at getting sacks in critical moments.
“Nobody’s going to remember those sacks in the first quarter,” Reader said. “I feel like we do a great job of having timely things happen for our team. We get sacks at timely times. We force bad throws or we forced quarterbacks to make quick decisions at timely times by simulating or getting pressure to him.”
Bengals CB Mike Hilton said their pass rushers make their job easier as defensive backs.
“We feel like with our front four, if they do their job, it makes it a lot easier for us,” said Hilton.
Ravens
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta thinks it’s presumptuous to say third-round LB Trenton Simpson will replace LB Patrick Queen and is still hopeful to sign him to an extension.
“People want to jump to conclusions [and say], ‘Oh [Simpson] is going to replace Patrick,'” DeCosta said, via Clifton Brown of the team’s official site. “I can tell you this. Patrick Queen had a helluva year last year. Patrick Queen is a very talented, in my mind, Pro Bowl-type linebacker. He’s going to have a great year this year. We want Patrick Queen on this team; we want to keep him on this team. We will, at some point, try to get him signed, hopefully, to an extension if we can.”
DeCosta explained they declined Queen’s fifth-year option because of salary cap reasons.
“The fifth-year option was something that was more based on business and the salary-cap economics than actually Patrick Queen and his performance and what he does as a player,” DeCosta said.
Queen said he is working on building chemistry with LB Roquan Smith.
“[I’m] just trying to get better,” Queen said. “Obviously, Roquan is here now, getting an offseason with us. So, [I’m] just trying to build that chemistry, trying to learn (Defensive Coordinator) Mike (Macdonald) more, trying to learn the defense more, trying to get all of us get on the same page. That’s my main focus right now.”
Steelers
Steelers OL Kevin Dotson doesn’t believe first-round OT Broderick Jones will see the field for the team in 2023. In a time of year where most teammates are gassing each other up, that’s more than a little notable.
“I think this year, most likely, he won’t play,” Dotson said, via Steelers Wire. “I’m thinking they’re just thinking about the future. That’s all I can think of. If he plays this year, I don’t know. He’s going to be at tackle, most likely left, because I don’t think he’s ever played right.”
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