Browns
Browns QB Dillon Gabriel made headlines when saying, “There are entertainers and there are competitors,” causing a stir that he might be speaking of fellow rookie QB Shedeur Sanders. When asked about the comments, Sanders said he spoke to Gabriel, who made clear he wasn’t talking about him.
“I spoke with him,” Sanders said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “He said, ‘Nah, bro, that wasn’t.’ He said that. He told me on the plane. He came up, he was like, ‘Nah, bro, that wasn’t at you. I see how they trying to spin it.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not tripping, regardless of whatever it was.’ Nobody’s words or anything affects me.”
Sanders was also asked if he believed Gabriel, to which Sanders shot back at.
“Did I believe him?” Sanders said. “I mean, I feel like you’re trying to start stuff now. I feel like you’re trying to start stuff. I mean, [the reporter’s] doing his job he’s supposed to. Do I feel like he did? I don’t know. And that’s not on me to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, he did, he did it.’ That’s not going to change my life in any way.”
Sanders reiterated that he’s not paying attention to the situation.
“Honestly, I don’t even think about nothing,” Sanders said. “I don’t think about anything. If it is not words or anything, at this point, it can’t do anything to me. I know that God put the ability and power within me to not even think about nobody else’s comments, not care. It is what it is.”
Ravens
Ravens DL Travis Jones is entering the fourth year of his career after emerging as an every-game starter for Baltimore last season. OLB Kyle Van Noy thinks Jones proved he was just as dominant as Giants DT Dexter Lawrence when he was healthy.
“If you go watch the first couple games (last year) when Trav was healthy, you could argue he was just as dominant as Dexter Lawrence out there,” Van Noy said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “If you really watched the film, he was that dominant.”
Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum said Jones is the strongest player he’s gone up against.
“I don’t remember anyone stronger than him that I’ve ever gone against,” Linderbaum said. “The power that he plays with is crazy. If your technique is out of sorts just a little bit, he’s going to make you pay. That’s just how strong he is. We see it every single day in practice. Sometimes he’s almost unblockable with the things that he’s able to do.”
Jones attended the University of Connecticut instead of joining a big program like Alabama. His mother, Jocelyn Ward, is glad about the path her son chose.
“I have no regrets about him going to Connecticut,” Ward said. “At the time, it was best for him. But I’m like, ‘If he went to a place like Alabama, he would have gone first round.’ The football player, I wish he could have gone (elsewhere). The boy, Travis, I was glad he stayed.”
- Ravens third-round OL Emery Jones is not going to come off the non-football injury list before the start of the season, meaning he’ll miss at least four games. (Jeff Zrebiec)
- Ravens OLB Adisa Isaac will also be out until at least midseason after needing elbow surgery. He’ll go on injured reserve to start the year. (Zrebiec)
Steelers
T.J. Watt is working on moving around in the Steelers’ defense to better utilize his versatility and strength as a pass rusher. He said Pittsburgh’s depth allows them to use him in different packages.
“That’s something that this time of year is perfect for, to move around to get comfortable,” Watt said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “It’s not about winning every single rep and having to be on the left side and having to get everything mastered on the left side. It’s about trying new things and moving around. We just have so much depth. I’m sure we’ll have some cool packages and some new stuff for you guys to see.”
Steelers DL coach Karl Dunbar reflected on using Watt on the right side in Week 8 against the Giants last year, eventually flipping him back to the left side to cause a sack.
“We had him on the right, and then we moved him to the left,” Dunbar said. “The quarterback didn’t see him shift and left the protection on the left side of the offense. And he got the sack to clean the game up. That’s the kind of stuff moving good players around can do for you.”
Despite the positive result in Week 8, Watt continued the rest of 2024 rushing from his usual left side. Steelers DC Teryl Austin pointed out that LB Alex Highsmith suffered an injury, leading to Watt wanting to stay put on the left.
“Sometimes things happen that way, just how the season unfolds,” Austin said. “At some point maybe Alex [Highsmith] was out, so [Watt] wanted to stick to his favorite side and all that stuff. We like when he moves around because it’s harder for the teams to just say, ‘Hey, TJ’s going to be over here. Let’s block it, set the protection.’ We’ll move him around a little bit, but we’re not going to move him around to our detriment. We know he’s had some really great seasons coming on that our defensive left, offensive right side, and he could still do that. We’re trying to open up, open it up for him and for others so we can get more sacks.”
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