On Cincinnati’s offense, so much of the attention goes to the elite trio of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Bengals OC Dan Pitcher praised WR Andrei Iosivas‘ confidence and mentality, as he carries himself with the belief he’s right there with the star receivers. 

“You see the confidence. You see the chest out. You see just how he carries himself,” Pitcher said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. “He believes that he’s like those other two guys. And he’s making steps to get there. In a lot of other buildings, he would have the opportunity that Tee Higgins has.

“When you don’t have that same volume, he knows that when the ball does come his way, he’s got to take advantage of it. I just think you’ve seen the confidence grow.”

Ravens

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman notes how close he was to becoming a Dallas Cowboy before he signed a new extension to remain in Baltimore.

“I went through a lot of things with the Cowboys and all of that with my contract,” Bateman said to The Athletic. “There was a time when I didn’t know what was going to happen. (The Cowboys talk) were a thing, for sure. It was a possibility. I don’t want to deny that.”

Steelers

The Steelers are adjusting to life without several offensive players who made an impact last season, including QB Russell Wilson, QB Justin Fields, WR George Pickens and RB Najee Harris. Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith said he’s accustomed to turnover during his time as the Titans’ offensive coordinator and Falcons’ head coach. 

“That’s the situation in front of us,” Smith said, via Dale Lolley of the team’s site. “I loved working with Naj and appreciated what Russ and Justin did, and George, but that’s just a life that we’re in right now. In the NFL. There’s turnover. It didn’t happen that way in terms of all the acquisitions, but in ’19 (in Tennessee), it happened in the early part of the year with (Ryan) Tannehill. We had drafted AJ Brown, Derek (Henry) the year before, but, Dion Lewis was playing in front of him, and so it felt like we had three new (starters). It was my first year calling it. In Atlanta, every year we had a different starting quarterback, Matt Ryan to Marcus (Mariota) to Des(mond Ridder) and playing (Taylor) Heinicke a little bit. So, I’ve done it before. That’s our situation, and we’re excited about it.”

As for Aaron Rodgers entering the fold, Smith said he’s gotten to know the veteran quarterback over the years and is excited to learn more about him as a player. 

“I’ve got to know Aaron outside of football the last couple of years,” Smith said. “You’re talking about one of the all-time great quarterbacks and of the things he’s accomplished in this league. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him as a player, the relationship with the football stuff. Just really excited to have him here. It’s going to be a fun journey. I know we’re only a couple days in, but he’s been awesome.”

Pittsburgh also added WRs D.K. Metcalf and Robert Woods to their offense. Smith said their system will evolve based on their personnel available. 

“You evolve depending on who you’ve got, personnel-wise and strategically, things you want to evolve to,” Smith said. “And that’s a lot of times how rosters get made. You see it through offseason acquisitions, free agency, draft. So when you put those strategies in place, we’ve evolved every year. You have to. A lot of times, out of necessity, we had a lot of different quarterbacks with a lot of different skillsets, and our job, especially as a coach, is to play to the strengths of your players. We have our foundation things that don’t change, but whether you lean into certain schemes, you have to adapt again to the personnel you’ve got. That’s what we try to do, ultimately, to win games and set guys up for success.”

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