Bengals
Bengals TE Mike Gesicki has proven to be a reliable asset for QB Joe Burrow and is starting to pick up on the same reads as his quarterback.
“He just shut it down and sat right in the soft spot as the defender expanded outside of him,” Bengals OC Dan Pitcher said, via the team’s website. “Good examples of guys having the ability to react to guys across from them.”
Gesicki feels more comfortable entering his second year in the offense and is starting to play looser instead of focusing on learning a new playbook.
“I think the biggest thing is now that I’m in the same system, I’m not worrying about myself as much,” Gesicki says. “I can concentrate on the defense more, and knowing Joe, I know I’m going to get that freedom out there.”
Pitcher said that Gesicki’s comfort within the offense will allow him more flexibility to settle within routes and find open spots in the coverage.
“It shows Mike has played a lot of NFL football,” Pitcher says. “Being in our system another year gives him comfort. It’s really a chemistry thing between him and the quarterback, and Joe trusting he’s got that tool in his toolbox and being able to see that and make that decision and Joe pulling the trigger.I’d like think some of it is also us coaching those guys and giving them flexibility to be football players in the moment to make smart decisions and not just run the route drawn on paper.”
Browns
After mulling retirement following 11 seasons in the league, Browns LG Joel Bitonio decided to return for his age-34 year. Bitonio has the utmost faith in his abilities at this age and is certain in his desire to keep playing.
“It’s been great,” Bitonio said, via Scott Petrak of the BrownsZone. “It was truly a decision this offseason. At the end of the year I was truly deciding if I wanted to play anymore and I kind of sat at home for a month or two and was in and around and talked to my wife and we just went through the process and I was like, I can still play football at a high level. I still want to play football.”
Bitonio cited their offensive scheme changes and new OL coach Mike Bloomgren as reasons why he wanted to keep playing, specifically in Cleveland.
“They don’t tell you who they’re drafting or anything, but just the style of offense we were going to run, who we’re going to try to bring in at quarterback. Coach Bloom was a big part of it. We went to dinner a couple times and just talked on his philosophies. All those things played in.”
“But at the end of the day I was like, I’m not ready to be done. I want to play more and I want to play in Cleveland. And that was my mindset.”
Steelers
The Steelers elected to take DE Jack Sawyer in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Sawyer said his approach to the game is to always try “to be the best.”
“Yeah, I’m a competitor,” Sawyer said, via Dale Lolley of the team’s site. “I think that if you play this game, you’ve got to always want to be the best. If not, you’re probably playing the wrong sport. So, for me, I’m always trying to be the best and anything I do, and really just, you know, attacking it and that stuff matters, you know, trying to be the best and working hard as you can to be that.”
Steelers DC Teryl Austin said Sawyer brings all the intangibles they were looking for and is proving to be a playmaker.
“This guy is really good, tough, unbelievable, intangibles football character, and he also has a knack for making plays when they’re needed,” Austin said. “You see him make a lot of big plays at crunch time, which tells me he’s going to be the type of guy that shows up when you need them, when plays are needed. Really, just unbelievable across the board, no holes in terms of who he is and what he’s about, and I think he’ll fit in nicely in our room.”
Austin added that Sawyer is proving to have an understanding of how to set the edge and when to bullrush offensive linemen.
“He’s a smart guy. He understands the game,” Austin said. “He gets himself on edges when he needs to get on edges to rush. He knows when to use the bull rush. And it’s just, I think one of those things, that’s how guys have a knack for it. They really study it. They understand the game, they understand the situations, and he takes advantage of all that instead of just playing. There’s a difference between just running around playing and understanding the situation you’re in and being able to apply that as the game goes.”
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