Bengals
Bengals OL Ted Karras said there won’t be a ton of changes to the unit’s pass protection assignments under new OL coach Scott Peters, but is hoping to generate more one-on-one wins.
“Maybe to the nuanced eye,” Karras said, via the team’s website. “Hopefully, it translates to more one-on-one wins.”
Peters said the team is using OTA’s to rebuild fundamentals and make sure they have their technique perfected before building to the next stage of development.
“It’s not easy to start from zero,” Peters said. “Some of the techniques are new, it’s not just go out there and throw your hands out there. It’s how you do it, from what platform, from what foundation your body operates from so your strikes are impactful and you are doing it without having to compromise posture. Guys will throw heavy hands and get beat and wiped and stuff. It is teaching them a foundation of how you throw a proper strike. You throw a proper strike and do it with good mechanics and ramp up the speed it looks like you have more pop in your hands, you have more length, you can play with better posture so if they did wipe your hands or knock you hands down you wont’ be staggering forward and get beat.”
Active hands is something that Peters has been preaching to the unit since he entered the building.
“You want to be able to confidently throw hands,” Peters said. “Some guys don’t throw hands because they are nervous about getting wiped. It’s like a boxer going into the ring and not throwing a punch because he doesn’t want to get hit. You are going to have to throw. We know what they are going to try to do. We want to try to build them a way to respond as part of an automatic response.”
Bengals OL Cordell Volson opted to remain in Cincinnati because of what he feels Peters can do to help propel his career.
“Scott is a really open guy,” Volson said, who accepted a pay cut rather than a release because he says he believed in what Peters could do for his career after being benched last season. “You can bounce ideas off him and ask him questions. We can play more toward our skill set. He instills a lot of confidence in us. I think he brings a good energy. We enjoy talking to him. We enjoy going into meetings with him. I think that’s really cool. It definitely makes my day way more enjoyable, that’s for sure.”
Ravens
Baltimore signed WR DeAndre Hopkins this offseason for a consistent depth piece in a room with Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Ravens TE Mark Andrews has been blown away by Hopkins so far and cited his ball skills and route running.
“[DeAndre Hopkins] looks great,” Andrews said, via Clifton Brown of the team’s website. “He looks really, really good. He’s been making some big plays, and I think he’s going to be great for our offense, just being versatile, having a guy that catches the ball extremely well, runs really fluid routes and knows the game well. And he looks like, when he’s out here, he’s flying around. He’s looked really good.”
Ravens HC John Harbaugh echoed Andrews’ thoughts, raving about Hopkins’ physical ability at 32 along with his experience.
“First of all, I think he’s a heck of a football player,” Harbaugh said. “Obviously, you saw him today. He’s a gifted guy. He’s a talented guy. He’s going to be a big-body, contested-catch receiver for us, certainly.”
“He’s moving great. Plus, he brings all that experience. He’s been in big games before. He’s made plays in the big games. He knows how to make plays. There’s not going to be any situation that’s going to be too big for him, but I just thought he and Lamar [Jackson] looked really good today out there together. It was nice to see.”
- Ravens WR Rashod Bateman signed a three-year, $36.75 million contract extension with the team that includes $20 million in guarantees of which $16.5 million is fully guaranteed at signing. The new guarantee is $9.5 million and Bateman received an $8 million signing bonus and his 2025 compensation is guaranteed. In 2026 he will receive a guaranteed $4 million option and his salary is guaranteed. His 2025 cap number was reduced by $350,000 and his 2026 cap hit was reduced by $1.3 million. (OTC)
- Ravens LB Odafe Oweh on veteran CB Jaire Alexander signing with the team: “More sacks, more sacks. That’s all I said. I’m excited to see what he can do.” (SiriusXM NFL)
Steelers
- SI.com’s Albert Breer reports Pittsburgh signed QB Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal with a base salary of $13.65 million, including $10 million guaranteed and a maximum value of $19.5 million.
- Breer adds Rodgers would need to play 70 percent of the snaps to qualify for incentives
- The incentives are as follows, per Breer: $500k if the Steelers make the playoffs, $600k for a wild-card round win with 50 percent play time in the game or a first-round bye, $750k for a divisional round win with 50 percent play time in the game, $1 million for AFC title game win with 50 percent play time in the game, $1.5 million for Super Bowl win with 50 percent play time in the game and $1.5 million for winning AP MVP.
- Rodgers talked about the timing of finally signing his deal: “I was dealing with a lot of things in my personal life. And some things improved a little bit, where I felt like I could fully be all-in with the guys. I had great conversation with Mike (Tomlin) throughout the entire process, and Omar (Khan).” (Breer)
- He also spoke on deciding to play in 2025: “I don’t need it for my ego, I don’t need it, to keep playing … This was a decision that was best for my soul.” (Breer)
- Steelers HC Mike Tomlin provided an update on the contract situation with OLB T.J. Watt: “I’m optimistic we’re going to get things done because we got two sides that want to get things done. When that’s going to occur… I do not know.” (Ian Rapoport)
- Rodgers said he spoke with Tomlin every week during the process and called him one of the biggest reasons he signed. Rodgers said talking with Tomling was like “talking to an old friend.” (Brooke Pryor)
- Rodgers also said WR D.K. Metcalf is a “big part of the reason” he came to the Steelers because of his work ethic and off-field personality. (Pryor)
- In Pittsburgh, Rodgers thinks he can bring stability because of the similarities to his past offenses. (Pryor)
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