AFC Notes: Trey Hendrickson, Aaron Rodgers, Shedeur Sanders, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

Trey Hendrickson‘s contract situation remains a pressing topic for the Bengals. When speaking to reporters, Joe Burrow stood behind Hendrickson, saying he “deserves to get paid.”

“Yeah, we’ll see what happens with that,” Burrow said, via the team’s YouTube. “You guys all know how I feel about Trey. He’s a great player. I love Trey as a guy. He goes out and plays well every single Sunday. He’s very productive. He’s a guy that deserves to get paid and get paid what he wants and what the market is. So, like I said, we’ll see what happens with that. But, I love Trey and hope he’s with us.”

Burrow reiterated his support of Hendrickson’s pursuit of a new contract. 

“I think he’s doing what he thinks is best for his career and I support him in that,” Burrow said. “Trey’s a smart guy. Just like anybody, I’m sure there’s things that he’d like to have back. But he’s very well thought out in his process and what he’s trying to do. And so, if he thinks that’s the way to go, then that’s the way to go.”

Burrow said Hendrickson brings a “unique energy” to the team. 

“Early in the offseason quite a bit, lately not quite as much,” Burrow said. “He was here last week, obviously, as you guys know. That was an exciting day. And it was great to see him. He came in, brought good energy, was happy to see everybody. Like I said, I love Trey, I love seeing Trey. He’s one of the most unique people I’ve ever been around or met, and I love that about him. And I think that’s what makes him a great player. So, he brings a unique energy that I’m always excited to see.”

Browns

The Browns elected to draft QB Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft despite taking QB Dillon Gabriel in the third. Sanders said he’s getting along well with Gabriel and has been impressed by how he handles the “negative media.”

“Everything’s been cool,” Sanders said, via DJ Siddiqi of SportsCasting. “He’s a cool person. I like how he handles situations, especially just the negative media that’s coming his way. I’m just happy he’s positive, he’s able to handle everything. We’re truly cool.”

Sanders established a relationship with Tom Brady during his college career, but hasn’t spoken to Brady since being drafted by Cleveland. Sanders said he’s only focused on his development. 

“I haven’t talked to him since the draft,” Sanders said. “I’ve mainly just been focusing on the team, everybody that’s currently around me, the coaches on the team. I haven’t really been on my phone much or talking to many people. I really don’t even talk to my family. It’s one of those situations where I just have to lock in, stay focused on what’s present now.”

Steelers 

The saga between the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers continues after initial interest from Pittsburgh was reported in February. When appearing on 103.7 The Buzz, Hall of Fame QB Terry Bradshaw called the Steelers’ interest in signing Rodgers “a joke.”

“That’s a joke. That to me is just a joke,” Bradshaw said. “What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.”

Bradshaw thinks they made a mistake with Kenny Pickett, saying Pittsburgh didn’t have an adequate offensive line to protect Pickett or give him capable receivers. 

“I liked Kenny Pickett,” Bradshaw said. “I liked him at Pitt. I know him, I know what he’s like. When they got him to Pittsburgh, they didn’t protect him, they didn’t get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn’t have an offensive line that could protect and they didn’t have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of. Then they throw a kid in there for two years, and you’ve got an offense that doesn’t fit and doesn’t work, and they can’t run because their offensive line’s not even good enough for a run-blocking team. Now, they’re saying Kenny Pickett is a failure. He wasn’t a failure, the Steelers were a failure.”