AFC Notes: Najee Harris, Cooper Rush, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals WR Tee Higgins mentioned that there were several moments where he was unsure if he could re-sign with the team. (Jay Morrison)
Bengals K Evan McPherson has an option due for 2027 worth $2.5 million with an additional $2.4 million due on March 22, and QB Joe Burrow has an option due worth $25.25 million. (OTC)
Arkansas WRs Andrew Armstrong and Isaac TeSlaa met with the Bengals at their pro day. (Tony Pauline)

Ravens

Former Cowboys QB Cooper Rush spoke about signing with Baltimore as their backup in free agency this offseason.

“It kind of came out of nowhere, and [I] was super excited when my agent said the Ravens called,”Rush told The Lounge podcast. “Obviously, from afar there in Dallas, you see the Ravens are a well-run, good organization. Obviously, tons of success, especially recently. So, I was like, wow, OK, this is sweet. It materialized, and here we are.”

“It’s really exciting to be on a good team,” Rush added. “You get to 9-5, we had some good teams down there in Dallas, so you don’t have to play out of yourself. You can play within yourself, do your job, rely on your teammates, and I think you have a similar situation here. Really good offense. Just kind of go do your job, get the ball to the fast guys, let them work, and do whatever you need to do to go win. The name of the game is ready. That’s your job description, your number one job description, is be ready. And your goal, when you’re called upon, you go win. That’s the job. I feel like I can do a good job of when you have to be that guy, you can be that guy, and when you don’t, you go back to that other role — being an asset in the room while still preparing. I think just throughout the years, I’ve gotten better at that.”

Justin Melo reports the Ravens met with BYU OT Caleb Etienne before his Pro Day.

Steelers

Steelers veteran DL Cameron Heyward praised the hard work put in by RB Najee Harris, who has now departed from the team and signed with the Chargers. Harris also gave some insight into some of the issues that Pittsburgh has been experiencing during his tenure with the organization.

“Man, I’ve got a lot of respect for Naj. He’s had, what, 1,000 yards every year he was in the league?” Heyward said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think that is very underrated. And fans always wanted more but didn’t understand the work Najee put in — one of the hardest workers. Sometimes, you gotta protect him from himself. But when it came to ball, Naj was always locked in. Great person. … I think he’s going to have a bright future there. He’s already a West Coast guy, so it feels like a match made in heaven.”

“While I was elevating, I feel like the time just ran out,” Harris said in an interview. “It was a team where we lost Ben, we lost a lot of O-line. We just didn’t know anything on offense, really. We didn’t have an identity. We had a young guy come in at quarterback. I was young. The team was young. I really didn’t have anybody to learn from on the offensive side. I think the veteran guy on that team was like a two-, three-year vet. He’s still learning himself. I’m coming in and I’m just trying to look for people to pick their brain, and it was just defensive guys. I’d go to the defensive guys and talk to them, but there wouldn’t be too much they could tell me about an offensive thing. Through my years, I learned a lot that I only learned firsthand.”

“My time in Pittsburgh, it was a lot of learning things, a lot of learning experiences,” Harris concluded. “Playing for Mike T, playing in that division, there were a lot of ways I didn’t even realize what the NFL was really about until I came to Pittsburgh.

“I don’t want to go into detail with it, but I feel there was a lot of stuff in my game where I could’ve elevated more and I could’ve did more. I feel like I just didn’t get it done. I feel like I was obviously missing something. … It was interesting years there, I’ll just say that. Interesting years.”

Josina Anderson mentioned that the Steelers feel they are getting closer to signing QB Aaron Rodgers after the news that the Vikings are currently not pursuing him.

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