Bengals

Bengals first-round DE Shemar Stewart signed his rookie contract to end a contentious holdout last month, putting a late start to his training camp workouts. Cincinnati DC Al Golden highly praised Stewart’s versatility and ability to come off the edge.

“Whether you agree or disagree, or whatever your philosophy is, or whatever your opinion was of Shemar, that player is rare,” Golden said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “Coming out of the draft, somebody that can come off the edge, one play, play in the B gap, two plays later, play in the C gap, set the edge, do multiple things. It’s just rare.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor said they can feel Stewart’s impact in practice.

“The power, the disruptiveness, there’s a lot of words you can use,” Taylor said. “You feel his impact, and I stand back there and call all the plays so you get an evaluation of people very quickly when you’re trying to have success as an offense and drive the ball down the field in practice. You form opinions and evaluations of guys very quickly, and he’s a guy that’s made an impact on me, I know that.”

Browns

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer expects the Browns to go with veteran QB Joe Flacco as the starter until the team falls out of playoff contention, at which point it becomes more important to see what the team has in the rookies.
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak writes Browns third-round TE Harold Fannin is on track to have a role in the offense as a rookie, as the team plans to rely heavily on multi-tight end sets this season.
Per the Athletic’s Zac Jackson, Flacco discussed being named the starting quarterback for Week 1 and his approach during camp to the competition: “Business as usual. You keep your head down, try to have a good camp. I don’t know if I was very emotional about it but listen, you don’t take for granted opportunities in this league.”
Asked if he was the starter for the season or until further notice, Flacco responded: “We all know how that works.”
Flacco is 40 years old but says he’s not feeling his age: “I feel as good as I ever have. My arm feels just as good as ever.” (Andrew Siciliano)
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski declined to name a backup behind Flacco, with veteran Kenny Pickett, third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders all jockeying for spots and dealing with injuries. (Scott Petrak)
New Browns UDFA WR Isaiah Bond spoke to reporters for the first time and addressed allegations of sexual assault, which were no-billed in Texas last week and cleared the way for Cleveland to sign him: “Since Day 1, I have proclaimed my innocence and I stand here today the same way. Excited to show the Browns they made the right decision.” (Jackson)
Bond said he felt like the Browns were especially interested in him throughout the pre-draft and post-draft process: “Yes, sir, 100 percent. My agent and Andrew Berry have a great relationship. Like I said, they’ve been talking before the draft and after the draft, so that definitely was a big factor in that.” (Tony Grossi)
Stefanski said he hopes Sanders and Pickett can play in the preseason finale, but he will need to see how the week goes. (Scott Petrak)
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com mentions the Browns always check into great players, like Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson, and she doesn’t get the sense that they are seriously going after the reigning sack leader.

Steelers

Steelers DC Teryl Austin believes LB Cole Holcomb looked like his 2023 self in their recent preseason game and expressed his belief that they could have three every-down linebackers with his emergence. (Nick Farabaugh)
Austin also called CB Brandin Echols outstanding and CB Daryl Porter a “really nice surprise.” (Farabaugh)
He was asked about CB Beanie Bishop fighting for a roster spot: “He really has to fight and work to get some splash to get in the picture.” (Ray Fittipaldo)
Austin also had great things to say about CB Corey Trice Jr., who has missed most of camp with an injury: “The guy is an NFL corner. He can play in this league. It’s just a matter of him being available.” (Fittipaldo)
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak notes that while the Steelers consider Jalen Ramsey a cornerback, they are working him at safety in base defense looks to ensure he doesn’t come off the field.
Austin told Solak that Ramsey has aced the mental part of learning all the different roles they have for him in the defense: “Because he wasn’t here with us all offseason, we just threw him in and gave him as much to learn right off the bat as possible to see where we were. And he answered the bell. So he’s learning nickel, he’s learning corner, he’s learning safety.”
Per Mark Kaboly, Steelers LS Christian Kuntz suffered a sternum injury that is believed to be broken. Kaboly mentions it would keep him out for several weeks to months.
Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith said they have seen progress from third-round RB Kaleb Johnson and called his last preseason game a good step forward. (Farabaugh)
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers said he’s going to continue to ask a lot of WR Roman Wilson, per PennLive’s Nick Farabaugh: “We’re going to coach him hard. He’s a great talent, but that can make the difference. We’re going to hold him to a standard of excellence. He has a chance to be a big-time talent in the league.”
Steelers LS Christian Kuntz has a fractured sternum but still could be back in time for Week 1. (Gerry Dulac)

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