AFC Notes: Tee Higgins, Bengals, Browns

Bengals

Bengals WR Tee Higgins spoke about his feelings surrounding what may have been his last home game at Paycor Stadium, as it is unknown what the future holds for the star wide receiver. He finished things off with a massive game in a win over the Broncos on Saturday night.

“Emotions are just everywhere,” Higgins said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “You don’t know what to feel. It’s a surreal feeling. I hope not, but that could have been my last game in the stripes here. This game meant a lot more to me coming into it. Just walking into the stadium, that’s what I was thinking. It’s a possibility. You never know what happens in the future. I grew so many relationships within the building, outside the building, in the city. It’ll definitely hurt. But there’s business, and if that’s where life takes me, God got me and I’ll just follow his lead. At the end of the game when I scored the game-winner,” he said, smiling and looking off into the distance, “I was like, ‘Man, shout out to Cincy.’ If it is, go out with a bang, you know what I mean?”

“Everybody can see what kind of player he is,” Bengals QB Joe Burrow added, noting he wants the team to retain Higgins next season. “He elevates us to a different level when he’s playing like that. Lucky to be a part of what we have going on right now.”

Browns

Zac Jackson of The Athletic takes a look at 12 players’ cap figures going into the 2025 offseason.

• With Deshaun Watson set to make $72.9 million guaranteed over the next two years, Jackson writes Watson will likely still be on next year’s roster even though he’s not in the team’s plans. 
• As for CB Denzel Ward‘s $24.6 million figure, Jackson writes the team is confident in their long-term investment.
• Jackson thinks OT Jack Conklin‘s $19.5 million salary could be too expensive to keep for Cleveland and points out they would save $16 million by making him a post-June 1 cut. Conklin could also be a candidate for a restructured deal, but Jackson believes he could gain a strong offer on the open market. 
• With G Wyatt Teller‘s $14.4 million salary, Jackson could see Teller receiving an extension or restructured deal. If Cleveland has a roster overhaul to get younger, Teller could also draw trade interest. 
• G Joel Bitonio is set to make $14.3 million in 2025, but Jackson writes the veteran is still unsure about his future and the team needs to know whether Bitonio plans on continuing his career. 
• Jackson thinks CB Greg Newsome‘s $13.4 million salary will prohibit finding a possible trade suitor, while he could also be a candidate for a contract restructure. 
• Jackson mentions OT Jedrick Wills‘ restricted deals mean he’ll count for $11.8 million against next year’s cap despite being out of a contract and it’s difficult to see him back in Cleveland. 
• Regarding TE David Njoku‘s $11.8 million cap figure, Jackson writes the team has about $24 million in total cap commitments at the tight end position. 
• DT Dalvin Tomlinson will count for $11.5 million against next year’s cap. Jackson could see him returning if the Browns still consider themselves to be playoff contenders. 
• Jackson thinks WR Jerry Jeudy‘s $8 million salary for 2025 is a relative bargain.
• With C Ethan Pocic‘s $7.8 million salary, Jackson also believes his standing on the team depends on whether Cleveland views itself as a playoff contender.

Browns

Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah suffered a serious neck injury in Week 8 and hasn’t returned to action since. Cleveland LB coach Jason Tarver said Owusu-Koramoah is in good spirits but revealed he’s traveling for different opinions on his neck. 

“We’re all just rooting for him to be able to figure out everything that it needs to be figured out with, like you said, with his travel schedule to see different doctors and things, just making sure he’s good,” Tarver said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “But good spirits, not hurting. All that’s good.”

Tarver praised Owusu-Koramoah for transforming himself into a defensive leader who is an integral part of what they do on every down.

“I think where Jeremiah went and we spoke about this a little bit, is he really went to making himself the every-down linebacker. Having the headset, making the calls to saying, ‘Hey, whoever, Myles (Garrett), move over,’ or whatever it is. He went to that point. And when players get to that point, it’s very exciting for a coach because there wasn’t anything that he can’t do and there wasn’t anything he can’t do athletically, of course, but he had taken himself, his preparation and his performance was just going like this (angle upward, like a plane).”