Browns

Browns HC Todd Monken believes he wasn’t ready to be a head coach when he was being discussed for one of the coveted positions over a decade ago.

“No, there’s no way I was ready,” Monken said, via Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports. “Not even close.”

Monken believes the experience he’s gained both in college and at the professional level has prepared him for a first-time head coaching job at 60.

“If you’d have hired me six years ago or 15 years ago, you could’ve said ‘Boy, he’s a young up-and-comer,'” Monken said. “But I’m better now at 60 than I really would have been at 45, just because of all the coaches and players I’ve been around.”

Monken began to accept that he would never become an NFL head coach, despite interviewing for positions in the past.

“I didn’t wonder. I didn’t think it was going to happen,” he admitted. “You get to a point to where it would’ve been fine. Being an offensive coordinator in the NFL, I had already been a head coach [in college]. If that’s where it ends, cool. Pretty damn good job, right? Awesome.  But it was going to take the right opportunity.“

Monken believes that taking the job as the head coach of the Browns was the right move for him and he’s not going to take it for granted.

“I do believe, as much as I swear, that God puts you in the right place for when you’re ready,” Monken said. “And the things you go through prepare you for what the next step is. You just don’t know what it is or when it’s going to happen. I’m blessed to have this one and I’m never going to take that for granted. That’s what I told them when I took the job. I’ll never take it for granted. It’s fourth-and-1 every day. Let’s go.“

• The Browns go into the season with Deshaun Watson as their starting quarterback ahead of second-year QBs Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. When asked if they received any trade offers for a quarterback, assistant GM Catherine Hickman responded: “Not that I would comment on.” (Zac Jackson)

Ravens

• Ravens HC Jesse Minter said fifth-round RB Adam Randall has been dealing with an ongoing physical issue, and placing him on injured reserve allows him to get back to 100 percent. (Jeff Zrebiec)
• Minter mentioned Jovaughn Gwyn hasn’t won the starting center job over Ethan Pocic yet, and was clear that the competition is still open. (Jamison Hensley)
• CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reports Ravens WR Zay Flowers is expected to be back practicing next week and ready to go for Week 1 as he works back from a lower body injury. 

Steelers

• Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. enters the regular season without a contract extension. When asked if he was surprised that deals got done with DT Keeanu Benton, LB Nick Herbig, and TE Darnell Washington before he received an extension, Porter responded: “No, not at all. I was really just happy that they got theirs done, you know. I came in with those guys, me, Herb, and Keeanu, and even Washington. We all came in together. Those are my guys. So I was ecstatic that they got paid. It’s well-deserved. It’s well-earned. So I’m happy that they get to feed their families and do what they want to do with their money that they earn.” (Nick Farabaugh)
• Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers tossed an interception in Wednesday’s practice. When asked about the moment, Rodgers said WR Roman Wilson made a “repeat mistake” but is confident that the receiver is learning: “Roman made a repeat mistake. That’s a good learning experience, because I don’t think he’s going to do that again. But he did the same thing early in training camp, and we said, ‘hey, on that under route, you’ve got to keep coming.’ So I think it’s best that it happened in practice. Roman is a great kid. He’s had a fantastic camp. I have utmost confidence in him. He’s going to have to play a big role for us. But mistakes can happen. That’s a great one to happen in practice. But he’s gotten a lot better, and I’m really proud of Roman.” (Farabaugh)