Bengals
Bengals OT Jonah Williams, who is in the final year of his contract, isn’t thinking about potentially playing his last game in Cincinnati.
“I’m not really thinking about it too much,” Williams said, via Jay Morrison of ProFootballNetwork. “We still have a big game against a divisional opponent this week, and we want to end on a high note.”
Regarding switching from left tackle to the right side, Williams feels he proved his versatility as a lineman this season.
“That’s what I wanted to do coming into the season, is prove a little versatility and have a good year, a good performance at right tackle,” Williams said. “I’d like to think I added another tool to the tool belt.”
Bengals OC Brian Callahan had high praise of Williams for switching positions and considers him a “bonafide starter at either tackle.”
“I’ve always thought Jonah has been a good player for us, so I don’t think that he proved anything that I didn’t know about him,” Callahan said. “But I will say the way that he handled it was incredibly impressive. I thought that was one of the more impressive handling of a difficult situation from a player that I’ve seen in a long time, where he just buckled down and said, ‘All right, this is what’s going to happen, and I’m going to play really well.’ And I think he has. He’s a bonafide starter at either tackle.”
Browns
Browns QB Jeff Driskel said the team’s offensive terminology is very similar to the system he was under in Arizona as Cardinals OC Drew Petzing was on the Browns’ staff for two years.
“Yeah, I mean, as much as one offense to another, there’s probably not a much smoother transition, terminology-wise,” Driskel said, via PFT. “Obviously, [there’s] somebody else calling it, new guys around you. The bigger thing has been getting to know my teammates more than getting to know the system, which I think is a good thing.”
Driskel said he jumped at the opportunity to be on a team’s 53-man roster, even this late in the season.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Driskel said. “When you get an opportunity to get on a 53-man roster, you take it. That’s typically the fastest path to the field, and that’s what my thought process was. So came here, had a chance to get on a 53, and looking forward to the opportunity on Sunday.”
Ravens
When asked about the number of initial backups earning big roles for the Ravens, HC John Harbaugh responded that every team must identify quality players who can step up when needed.
“It has to be that way in the National Football League, for sure,” Harbaugh said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “You have to have that quality to sustain and have stamina through the whole season. Team stamina requires guys to step in and play at the same high starter level. In our minds, everybody’s a starter. You have to be, because you’re one click away from being out there and everything riding on your shoulders. You have to prepare that way.”
Ravens S Geno Stone thinks everyone in their secondary can step in at a moment’s notice.
“It’s a testament to our guys,” Stone said. “Everyone can play in this secondary. Even guys that don’t get the reps at practice, they’re able to go in and do special things.”
Ravens FB Patrick Ricard praised the amount of depth they have throughout the roster.
“The depth is just there,” Ricard said. “Guys, when the opportunities come, they make the most of it. It’s just a credit to the scouting department of getting the right guys here, coaches for preparing the guys the right way, guys believing in the process and really just being locked in during the week and getting ready to play whenever their number is called. We’ve been seeing it all year. We don’t skip a beat or lose a step when guys go down.”
More must-reads: