AFC Notes: George Pickens, Amarius Mims, Steelers, Bengals

Bengals

Bengals OT Amarius Mims was teammates with Dylan Fairchild at Georgia and had positive things to say about him, even though they were on opposite sides of the offensive line.

“Strongest dude I ever met in my life. Pound for pound,” said Mims, via Bengals.com. “He has that factor about him. Not just in a game, but in regular life. I feel bad if he gets his hands on a regular pedestrian just walking down the street. If it’s not a football player, he’ll probably (do damage).”

Bengals veterans LT Orlando Brown Jr. and C Ted Karras are trying to accommodate their new left guard, with Karras allowing Fairchild to stay in his pool house while watching film.

“He’s got a lot of questions, but that’s good. That’s what you want,” Brown said of Fairchild. “I believe it’s my responsibility to make him as comfortable as possible. His play strength is very unique. Just holding the bag for him, or being in front of him in a drill, holy hell, this guy has some heavy hands. There’s a reason they took him in the third round and gave him the opportunity to be the guy at left guard. Just in terms of play strength, the right mindset, and his ability to pass protect. For his size, he’s got a unique body in terms of his length, height, and strength. In college, playing as well as he did in the SEC, and how consistent he was, it’s what made him a hot commodity.”

“Great guest. Left it very clean,” Karras said of his pool house before gearing back to Fairchild. “Just jump-starting some installs. He recently got married, and I think that bodes well. He’s kind of coming in as a grown man, a married man. It doesn’t seem like the moment is too big for him. I figured if this guy is eager, I have the accommodations, and I wanted to get my hands on him first. I think he’s done a great job so far. We’re two days in working with him. Made of the right stuff, played at a big-time program, and seems to be kind of a physical specimen. Excited to have him.”

George Pickens

Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly said that HC Mike Tomlin was the one who initiated trading WR George Pickens to the Cowboys.

“Make no mistake about it, Tomlin — who has gone out of his way in the past to defend Pickens — is the one who decided that the Pickens rehabilitation project needed to end a year early. The ultimate decision had very little to do with general manager Omar Khan (although he signed off on it, too), and of course it was OK’d by team owner Art Rooney II,” Kaboly said, via Steelers Wire.

Steelers

Steelers owner Art Rooney II said he doesn’t have any “major complaints” regarding the team’s schedule for the new season, but did take issue with some of the late games on the West Coast.

“We’re not crazy about having the night games late in the season,” Rooney said, via the team’s website. “It happens, and it’s not a big, big deal, but we would prefer not to have too many night games late in the season. Obviously I also look for the long trips and how they fall, and unfortunately we have a Sunday night game in Los Angeles. Not crazy about the playing those night games on the West Coast.”