Bengals

Bengals first-round DE Shemar Stewart is still seeking his first sack and tackle for loss through five appearances and four starts. Cincinnati DC Al Golden feels the game still needs to slow down for the first-round rookie. 

“He’ll be the first to tell you he just needs to be more consistent,” Golden said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “It needs to slow down for him.”

Golden mentioned that Stewart is still working to understand the balance between technique, assignment and digesting opposing offenses. 

“It’s technique on top of assignment on top of what the offense is doing to you,” Golden said. “That’s a lot for him right now, for where he is. Once it slows down, I know his talent is going to take over. That’s what we’re trying to do. That’s where we’re trying to get him to so that he can go back to enjoying the game and play with passion.”

Bengals 

Joe Burrow is nearing his return as the Bengals’ starting quarterback, meaning Joe Flacco will move to the bench. When asked about his future, Flacco said he’s not looking too far ahead and is only focused on the week ahead.

“I don’t know, I think backups probably do it a good amount where they know like, ‘Hey, this guy’s coming back, he’s got a three-week injury or whatever it is,'” Flacco said, via Dave Clark of The Cincinnati Enquirer. “I’m honestly not really thinking about it. It’s not really a part of my process. I really don’t care. It’s this week, and that’s all that matters. And I think to think about that stuff would just be a distraction. So it’s not really something I’m worried about. Like I said, I’m just worried about doing my job, and this week that’s going out and playing against Pittsburgh.”

Flacco made clear that there is no negativity between himself, Burrow, and Jake Browning. 

“Listen, I think you can probably make too much about that honestly,” Flacco said. “I mean, listen, we’re just two quarterbacks sitting in a room, and it’s not like we’re doing anything groundbreaking in there. We’re two quarterbacks in a room just like any other two quarterbacks for the most part. I think, like I said, for me, still being new in the offense, and it’s not just him, it’s also Jake (Browning). I’m still at the point where you’re able to kind of see the operation of things and kind of bounce little questions like that off those guys. I think that’s still the biggest thing. But if I can kinda understand where they’re coming from, it makes it a little easier for me. … (Burrow)’s been great to have in the room just because he’s been operating in this offense and actually been out there doing it for however many years now. So it’s always nice to be able to see … the operation of how he may do things.”

Steelers

• Steelers DC Teryl Austin says that CB Asante Samuel Jr. is ‘in pretty good shape‘ and they will assess just how ready he is to play later in this week. (Nick Farabaugh)