Bengals

Cincinnati has struggled with slow starts recently, which has forced them to play nearly perfect football in the back half of the season. Bengals HC Zac Taylor is potentially open to playing starters in multiple preseason games for the first time since 2019 to help faster starts. 

“That’s definitely on the table. Having been through this 14 years now really it can change every training camp,” Taylor said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. “Certain games change depending on health and on decisions we want to make. I don’t mind putting that out there in the world that we’re considering playing these guys in two or three of the games, but that’s always subject to change based on injuries.”

Browns

The Browns have four very intriguing options battling for the starting quarterback job this offseason, who are at different career points. Cleveland QB Joe Flacco has found joy in the everyday grind of the season, but he is urgently chasing the feeling of leading his teammates. 

“There’s a lot that’s out of your control at a certain point, but my mindset is, ‘Dude, I’m gonna win this job, go out there and have an awesome season.’ And go do it again, and again,” Flacco said, via SI.com’s Albert Breer. “My mindset is still that. I’m looking forward to going out there and proving to myself and my family that I still got it, and I’m gonna do this for a couple more years.”

“Dude, I’ve learned to have a lot of fun at practice and being around the locker room and all that. But when you’re in a stadium and you win a football game and you get to go in the locker room after that, I mean, that feeling is like no other. When you throw a touchdown pass and you win that game, and you get to go hug your teammates, a bunch of grown men hugging each other in a locker room, hooting and hollering like they’re 8 years old, it really doesn’t get much better.”

Steelers

The Steelers finally got Aaron Rodgers‘ deal done, making him Pittsburgh’s incumbent starting quarterback. Rodgers said he’s already spent time with WR D.K. Metcalf this offseason.

“DK has been blowing me up for a while,” Rodgers said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “We got to get together out west, but I’ve gone against him a number of times. He’s a big, athletic, fast, got great hands, ball skills, but the thing that really excites me the most is his character. I think he’s a high-character guy. I was teasing him the first conversation we had, he said ‘yes sir’ 10 times. I said, ‘Is that because I’m 41?’ He said, ‘No, that’s how I talk.’”

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