AFC Notes: Sheldon Rankins, T.J. Watt, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

New Bengals DT Sheldon Rankins talked about joining a team he’s played a lot throughout his career. He also addressed his critics and cited his strong season in 2023.

“It’s like, the girl, you know, that, hey, I’m gonna just be your friend for now,” Rankins said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “And then, you know, maybe when they should look at you, like, you know what, he’s kind of cute. You know, they were persistent. Let’s give this a shot.”

“If you go back to my last year with the Jets, coming off that year, people questioned, could I rush the passer anywhere. Everyone said, ‘Oh he’s a run guy. That’s what he is, he’s a run guy.’ If you go back with my Jets, my last year there, when I was on the field, we gave up 3.8 yards a carry, and going to Houston, we became the No. 6 run defense in the league or something like that, with me playing a lot of snaps in the run defense. So, I think I do it all at a high level.”

Ravens

• Northern Iowa DT Khristian Boyd has an official visit scheduled with the Ravens, among many others. (Ryan Fowler)
• Baltimore met with Michigan OL Karsen Barnhart before his pro day. (Justin Melo)

Steelers

Steelers LB T.J. Watt was asked about the team’s two new quarterbacks and is hoping they can help him earn his first career playoff win. 

“I’m just hoping that I can learn something from those guys and hopefully, show them how things are done in Pittsburgh as well, what we’ve been doing,” Watt said, via PJ Green of Fox4 in Kansas City. “I haven’t won a playoff game my whole career, so I’m open to any type of information, where we can continue to get better. Hopefully, those guys can help us do that. . . . It’s tough. It’s a very tough, competitive league. There’s so much parity, especially in our division. You look at all the quarterbacks. I’m just glad that we have one. It’s all about staying healthy and being on the rise. And that’s what we have to do this year.”

• Michigan WR Roman Wilson and CB Mike Sainristil met with the Steelers before their pro day. (Tony Pauline)