Bengals

Bengals QB Joe Burrow made his return to the lineup in Week 13 after his lengthy absence due to a toe injury. Burrow said he’s approaching the game with the mindset of having fun. 

“If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing this,” Burrow said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “I have been through a lot. If it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for? That is the mindset I am trying to bring to the table.”

Burrow helped lead Cincinnati to a 32-13 win over the Ravens in Week 13 and a narrow 39-34 loss to the Bills in Week 14. The quarterback knew it would be an “uphill battle” once he returned. 

“Certainly, the last two weeks has shown me a lot,” Burrow said. “I’m just happy to be out there. We want to win games and be in the playoffs and do everything that we say we are capable of doing, but when I came back, I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. We were 3-8 at that point, and that’s certainly not a playoff-caliber position to be in.”

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano expects the Bengals and DE Trey Hendrickson to part ways this offseason. 

Ravens

• Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic points out that the Ravens’ list of impending free agents includes FB Patrick Ricard, TE Isaiah Likely, TE Charlie Kolar, WR DeAndre Hopkins, OL Tyler Linderbaum, OL Daniel Faalele, DE Kyle Van Noy, DE Dre’Mont Jones, DT Travis Jones, CB Chidobe Awuzie, S Alohi Gilman, S Ar’Darius Washington, and P Jordan Stout.
• Zrebiec considers DL Nnamdi Madubuike‘s future to be “dubious” given he’s projected to carry a cap figure of $31 million in 2026 after dealing with a neck injury. Should Jones and Madubuike depart, Baltimore would have to rebuild “almost their entire defensive line.” 
• Zrebiec also points out that GM Eric DeCosta will be “extremely limited” in what they can do, given Lamar Jackson‘s cap figure will rise to $74.5 million over the next two seasons. 
• Zrebiec could also see OC Todd Monken coming into the crosshairs because of the regression of Baltimore’s offense.

Steelers

• Steelers DE T.J. Watt was hospitalized because of a lung issue.
• Pittsburgh HC Mike Tomlin is unsure what prompted Watt’s lung issue, but mentioned that he remained in the hospital overnight for further testing, per Brooke Pryor.