Bengals

Bengals S Bryan Cook embarks on his first season in Cincinnati following his time with the Chiefs. Cook said he’s making an effort to listen to his new teammates and get to know them as people. 

“God gave every human being two ears and a mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you talk,” Cook said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s site. “I’m listening to the guys, trying to understand where they’re coming from and how they move. How can I reach this person if need be. Reading and seeing that person. You never know what somebody is going through no matter what day it is. Just being somebody to lean on these guys.”

Cook is focused on improving as much as he can before Week 1. 

“It feels like forever to the first game. These are important days that you have to stack to get to that point of being very comfortable about who we are and I’m very excited about that,” Cook said. “What we can bring to the table going into the regular season and hopefully the postseason.”

He mentioned that lining up against WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is beneficial to him this offseason. 

“We’ve got two No. 1 receivers here. More learning from those guys,” Cook said. “Seeing how they view certain things. How to get better at disguising some things.”

Browns

Browns HC Todd Monken seemed sure the team wouldn’t consider QB Brendan Sorsby, noting questions about his eligibility and his potential to become a franchise quarterback in the NFL.

“I mean, that’s not even come across my desk. I don’t think we’re in a position to want to go down that road. That’s my option, not Andrew’s,” Monken said, via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “I like the quarterbacks that we have. I think that’s a slippery slope, when you go down that [path] — irrespective of talent — in terms of the situation he’s put himself in. We all know what that is. He put himself in that situation. And we’ve seen in other sports with players that have been banned for life from playing in professional sports. I think that’s a slippery slope to go down that road. Again, that’s a question for Andrew and for management. But from my end of it, kind of a tough angle to go down that road and think that’s going to be your franchise quarterback — if he’s ever eligible to even play in the NFL.”

“I anticipate there still being competition,” Monken added. “That doesn’t mean that the reps will be equal. That’s the easiest way to put it. I think we’re in a good place right now with our quarterback room. All of the guys that are in there are working hard and I like the level of talent that we have in there. But the next six days will go a long way into how we go into fall camp.”

Steelers

Through his first experiences with QB Will Howard, Steelers HC Mike McCarthy likes the second-year signal-caller’s mindset and lower-body athleticism. 

“He’s wired the right way,” McCarthy said, via the team’s website. “Our first meetings, just sitting there talking football, and just coaching quarterbacks for a long time, you know the questions to ask and the tempo and the pace, jumping in and out of conversations.”

“He has excellent wiring. He’s a lot more athletic than I realized in his lower half. He’s doing a hell of a job. He’s having a really good offseason.”