Bengals
Bengals first-round DE Shemar Stewart’s agent, Zac Hiller, made a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio to discuss the contract situation.
“Obviously my job, and all agents’ job, is to protect the players,” Hiller said, via Pro Football Talk. “Simply put, Shemar would, of course, love for his contract to be as protective as the rest of his Bengals teammates in the past. And, simply put, the way the contract currently reads is not as protective.”
“Contracts are based on precedent,” Hiller continued. “So, when Shemar has never asked for anything more or less protective than any of his teammates, it’s a simple fix. It’s just say, ‘Hey, this is the precedent. Let’s keep the precedent.’ If you want to make changes to your precedent, it should be a negotiation. It should be give and take. It shouldn’t just be, ‘Hey, we’re changing this and sign it or go scratch.’”
“All he wants to do is be a Cincinnati Bengal,” Hiller concluded. “This guy was so excited to get drafted by Cincinnati. All he wants to do is be a Bengal. All he wanted to do was be on the field and show the Cincinnati fans the incredible specimen, person, football player that this team was lucky to draft where they drafted. And he’s not been allowed to do that.”
Browns
Browns QB Joe Flacco is in a true quarterback competition for the first time in a while as he enters his age-40 season. Flacco explained how he’s handling the different dynamics and talked about how it helps wake up a different passion, knowing he has to be at his absolute best.
“I’m just kind of going out there and doing what I do and everything else is kind of out of my control,” Flacco said, via Kelsey Russo of the team’s website. “It’s fun to get back out there and actually play a little football again. It’s funny. It’s like every time I go out here in the offseason, I’ve done it a million times, but it’s like there’s a little piece of you is like, all right, let’s see if I still know how to read it and let it go and do all those things. So, it’s good to get back out there and start doing it again.”
“I think there’s no shying away, that there’s something that gets ignited in you a little bit. Like there’s a reason I still want to play this game, but at the end of the day, I really don’t focus on those things. I focus on coming out here, doing my work, having a lot of fun. And all those other things fall into place.”
Despite the competition, Flacco outlined the strong relationship the quarterbacks have built through their first couple of weeks together.
“We spend a lot of time together, all the quarterbacks do. I think that’s the nature of the beast. When you’re in this business and you’re in a room together a lot, you better find ways to get along and find common ground with people. And that’s what we’re doing in there. We’re having a blast and having a lot of fun, talking football and then just laughing at things that come up on a daily basis.”
Ravens
Ravens rookie pass rusher Mike Green fell to the Ravens in the second round after facing sexual assault allegations, but has drawn praise from DC Zach Orr, given that his success in college will likely translate to the NFL.
“I see a guy that comes out here and works, but from a physical standpoint, [Mike Green’s] get-off is real, and he understands the level of the quarterback,” Orr said, via Pro Football Talk. “So, I think he’s going to be a really valuable piece for us. He’s strong. He’s explosive. He can rush on the outside, and he can rush on the inside. One thing we always say [is] you can never have enough rushers, and he’s going to add to that room, and it’s going to be a great valuable piece for us, but I’m happy with Mike. I think that he’s doing a good job with what he can do right now, given the restrictions with the pads and everything, but I think [during] training camp and preseason, you guys will really start to see what abilities he really has.”
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