Browns
Browns QB Joe Flacco has no problem taking the team’s younger quarterbacks under his wing, but wants to be regarded as more than just a mentor heading into his 18th NFL season.
“It’s not really about that. It’s just not the main focus,” Flacco said this week, via ESPN. “I see myself as a guy that can play in this league. So, if your main focus was just like, hey, but I’m going to get you ready, you’re just not taking care of business. The best way to be a mentor, honestly, is to show people how you go to work and, like I said, hope that they pick up on that stuff, but not necessarily force them to pick up on the things that you do.”
“Joe physically has been gifted with the ability to throw the football. He looks the same to me,” Browns HC Kevin Stefanski added. “It’s just fun having some veterans in that room, some young guys in the quarterback room. They really feed off of each other. And certainly, Joe has a lot to explain to the guys or a lot of wisdom to impart on those guys of things that have come up in his career.”
Ravens
Ravens OLB Odafe Oweh said he gained 20 pounds this offseason in order to become a more powerful pass rusher. Oweh was shut out during the team’s loss to the Bills in the playoffs.
“I thought a lot of that had to do with my weight and being able to be stout in certain positions,” Oweh said, via ESPN. “So, as soon as the season was done, I went to Miami, started eating, lifting and then gaining weight.”
Oweh is positioned to become a free agent in a loaded edge rusher class that could see some of the game’s elite test the market.
“I would be crazy to say that’s not something a little bit in the back of my mind,” Oweh said when asked if his contract status impacts his outlook for this season. “But every year, I try to be better than I was last year. So to be honest, that’s really what I’m focused on. I know if I do that, it’s going to take care of itself.”
Oweh’s work this offseason gained praise from Ravens HC John Harbaugh.
“I’m just really happy with Odafe right now, in terms of what he’s done [this offseason],” Harbaugh said. “You saw him out there, right? How does he look to you? He looks good. He’s put on 12 or 15 pounds of muscle. He’s worked really hard. He’s just very determined to be really great.”
Steelers
The Steelers dealt WR George Pickens to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. After there were some rumors that HC Mike Tomlin pushed the trade, Pickens made clear in a since-deleted post on X that he “forced” his way out and Pittsburgh wanted to keep him.
“I forced [the trade] buddy. [The Steelers] were gladly keeping me. Have a nice day and a blessed one my guy,” Pickens said, via SteelersWire.
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