AFC Notes: Tyler Boyd, Joe Flacco, Tee Higgins, Bengals, Browns

Bengals

Bengals QB Joe Burrow said it’s no secret that he wants WR Tee Higgins back with the team next season.

“It’s no secret, our relationship,” Burrow said, via ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I expect Tee to be back. I think that’s the sentiment in the locker room. We all want Tee back. We know what kind of player he is. We know what kind of person he is. He’s what being a Bengal is all about.”

Burrow said he structured his contract in a way that allows the team to make moves to improve the team now.

“We made sure things were in place that we could [be flexible] if we needed to,” Burrow said.

Bengals

While reporters were approaching Bengals WR Tyler Boyd about his impending free agency, QB Jake Browning unpromptedly praised Boyd for helping him throughout the year and called him their “unsung hero of the locker room.” 

“Real quick,” Browning said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “He’s been my locker mate the whole year. Been a big part of helping me bounce back when I throw three picks in a game. I think an underrated part of the whole locker room. And the receiver room, obviously, we got a ton of talent in there. He’s a big, unsung hero of the locker room. I hope he’s back. But wherever he goes, someone is going to be lucky to have him in the locker room.”

Browning reflected on being consoled by Boyd after tossing three interceptions against the Steelers.

“Everybody has one of those games,” Browning recalled advice received from Boyd. “I’ll always remember that. You remember what people were like when something bad just happened.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor feels Boyd was a major part of turning the Cincinnati organization around.  

“Only really four players have been there through the start,” Taylor said. “I was part of those guys. I know those guys look at me as an incredible part of how this team is created and what its foundation and what a Bengal was and what it took to be part of this team. I embrace all that and always wanted to be that guy that could do everything to help this team win.”

Browns

Browns QB Joe Flacco is unsure why some teams that needed a quarterback were unwilling to take a chance on him but was happy to finally be back on the field.

“People probably already kind of assume they know who I am and they’re like, ‘OK, yeah, maybe he could help us but really could he?’” Flacco asked Scott Petrak of BrownsZone.com. “They maybe just had an idea of who I was, and maybe it’s not quite correct if you ask me. Part of me was thinking, ‘All right, what am I going to do next?’ And then part of me was thinking, ‘You got to stay focused, you could still play.’ So you got all kinds of emotions. All I could do was what I was doing to make sure that I was ready in case it did happen.”

“I was able to stay pretty positive about it, considering the fact that I still wanted to play and can still play,” Flacco added. “But you have people come up to you and, ‘Oh, man, how’s retirement?’ So they’re reminding you of it. Ultimately it was still all fun. You have other things to keep your mind off of it most of the time. Just the last few years in general, just being a backup and feeling like I could play and then sitting at home and still feeling like I could play, it does give you a new perspective on things and how fortunate you are to do this. So when you’re out there, it’s impossible for that not to come through in certain ways.”