Once a week during the season and occasionally during the offseason, our AFC North beat writers gather for a roundtable discussion on the happenings, player movement and pressing issues facing all four teams.
In this July Fourth holiday edition, we start by tackling pre-training camp football business and then move on to the HBO and NFL Films announcement that this year’s in-season “Hard Knocks” will feature an entire division for the first time — the AFC North. The show debuts on Dec. 3.
Advertisement
It’s the downtime across the league. Is there any looming business or semi-pressing need that the team you cover could address in the coming weeks, or do you expect it to be quiet until the start of training camp?
Jeff Zrebiec (Ravens): The timing is always hard to predict, but I fully expect the Ravens to add another veteran or two, simply because that’s what general manager Eric DeCosta does. The Ravens love the late offseason signings where they bring in known and motivated veterans on the cheap to augment positions of perceived need. Last year, they added cornerback Arthur Maulet on the eve of training camp, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Ronald Darby in mid-August, and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy in September. Those four had strong years and were instrumental in Baltimore having one of the top defenses in the league. Currently, the Ravens need a veteran safety, and quite a few are still available. They could also use an interior offensive lineman. It would be surprising if one of those areas is not addressed in the coming weeks.
Zac Jackson (Browns): Amari Cooper skipped mandatory minicamp because he wants a new contract ahead of his age-30 season — and because he knows the Browns need him badly. I don’t know that a resolution is imminent, but I’m guessing Cooper will get at least another year of guaranteed money from Cleveland. Anything else that happens before the Browns open training camp at The Greenbrier on July 25 would either qualify as a minor roster move or a pretty significant surprise.
GO DEEPER
Assessing the leverage Amari Cooper would have in contract talks with the Browns
Mark Kaboly (Steelers): There is business to address with contract extensions for Cameron Heyward and Pat Freiermuth and potentially something with Justin Fields, but that’s more likely to be addressed before the start of the season rather than the start of training camp. That said, we all know the elephant in the room with Brandon Aiyuk. The Steelers need a top-level wide receiver to pair with George Pickens and have been linked to Aiyuk for months now. Whether it’s conjecture or something to it, we will never know unless general manager Omar Khan pulls off a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. It doesn’t look like a sure bet. But with Khan, there’s always a chance.
Paul Dehner Jr. (Bengals): Any residual drama was sucked out of the room when Tee Higgins officially signed his franchise tag. No long-term deal is expected, nor is any training camp holdout. With Higgins on board and with everything to play for, the Bengals have another year of this wildly talented offense assembled and ready to go. Everyone is waiting to see how Joe Burrow will round into shape health-wise, but that will be true every day for the rest of his career. Outside of Burrow proposing a jersey with the middle of the back torn off as an alternate uniform after a Paris Fashion Week appearance, all should stay quiet until camp.
Advertisement
Late last month we got the in-season “Hard Knocks” announcement. What was your initial reaction? What are you most anxious to see?
Zrebiec: My initial reaction was, “What were the Ravens guaranteed or promised to get them to agree to this?” They have always been highly reluctant to open the curtain and give outsiders a look at their operation and methods. The 2001 Ravens were the subject of the first “Hard Knocks,” but that was a different time with different decision-makers. The team’s current regime is far more guarded and team officials have expressed a decided lack of interest in being on the show in recent years. As for who/what I’m most anxious to see, it has to be behind-the-scenes stuff involving Lamar Jackson. For a superstar and one of the faces of the league, there have been very few glimpses of how Jackson conducts himself in meeting rooms, at the facility and even away from it. He is so guarded and his inner circle is so small. That’s by design. We’ll see just how much access the HBO cameras get to Jackson, but I’m sure there will be plenty of folks in Baltimore and football fans league-wide who would love an in-depth look at the two-time MVP.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
Jackson: I love the idea of featuring an entire division — specifically this one — in December when there are so many divisional games that we expect to be significant. We all crave more access, and though I can’t imagine the show getting full keys to all places, I am excited to see the end product. I credit the folks in charge for mixing it up and at least swinging at taking us inside what could be a really fun race. If we end up getting a few gems out of a certain player wearing a mic or cameras being allowed in meeting rooms, we all win in some way.
Kaboly: It kind of came out of nowhere because the Steelers don’t like to open their doors and let outsiders see how the sausage is made. But when you can have four teams featured over six weeks, it doesn’t seem like that much of an ask for any of the organizations. I wouldn’t expect much to come out of it for Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin, T.J. Watt, Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Russell Wilson are polished PR machines. I would imagine the Steelers will keep Patrick Queen and Najee Harris away from the cameras. But even if they don’t, there is an erase button available in the editing process.
Dehner: I’m anxious to see how much access to Burrow and the inner workings of his routine will be aired. Does he throw a spiral directly at a camera mounted in the quarterbacks’ room on Day 1, taking it out of commission? Or in the same way Tua Tagovailoa was prevalent in those meetings with the Miami Dolphins last year, does Burrow garner screen time in preparation for critical games? The Bengals and Burrow have purposely kept his public interactions minimal and manicured through his first four seasons. He’s expressed less resistance to being viewed that way in recent months, but we’ll see how the tone changes when the games matter.
GO DEEPER
Joe Burrow's offseason everything Bengals could have wanted
We can’t predict what December will bring, but which player on the team you cover is most made for reality TV?
Zrebiec: Middle linebacker Roquan Smith has been a quote machine since joining the Ravens, but you quickly learn that the weekly tough talk is part of his personality. It’s interpreted as trash talk by the media/opposing teams looking for headlines or bulletin board material, but he says similar things every week. It’s not jarring when context is included. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, on the other hand, is unpredictable. He can be moody and mercurial, and quite frankly, difficult to deal with at times. But he also seems to like the give-and-take, says or tweets whatever is on his mind and he’s never shown an ounce of concern about what others think about it. He has some “interesting” thoughts and viewpoints, too. If he’s in the mood, his podium sessions are some of the most entertaining interviews you’ll see all year. He can be thoughtful, honest and revealing. This is a guy who acknowledged last summer that he sought owner Steve Bisciotti’s advice on his love life. So yeah, he’s built for this.
Advertisement
Jackson: Though the best answer from the standpoint of unpredictability is probably David Njoku, I’ll go with Dawand Jones. The second-year tackle is a physical marvel who is a popular player in the locker room and community. And he’s not just an interesting story, he might end up being a really good player. It would be great to have Jones mic’d up as he goes against some of the league’s premier pass rushers.
Kaboly: It all depends on what we’re talking about. Wilson is a gem with the cameras on and will certainly use it to his advantage, but I wouldn’t expect anything headline-worthy. Tomlin is going to be the star, I can assure you of that. You will get a peek inside practices and meetings. But if we’re strictly talking about players and who will be the most entertaining if left unfiltered, it would be inside linebackers Queen and Elandon Roberts. Too bad Christian Kuntz is a long snapper and likely won’t be featured at all, or he would be the star of the entire show.
Dehner: Ja’Marr Chase would be the obvious answer here. His stardom, light-hearted personality and close relationship with Burrow are a producer’s dream. But you expect more than obvious from us here at the Whip. I’d be willing to bet this show could help Cam Taylor-Britt become a star. His personality is as big as anyone on the team, and his status is about to be. Taylor-Britt started to come into his own last year before an injury and is being counted on as CB1. If he grows into that role by the time “Hard Knocks” starts forming storylines, he could be an immediate star of the show.
“Hard Knocks” is great, but it’s been around a while. Is it still fresh and relevant? Do you expect something close to full transparency in what could be a wild and crucial month?
Zrebiec: Not to me. I haven’t watched in years and really, who needs to? Just about all of the interesting footage and scenes will hit your social media timelines in short order when the show is on. Still, you can’t deny how many people are interested in it and how much fans enjoy the behind-the-scenes stuff. I can’t say this for sure because I haven’t watched, but the feedback I’ve gotten in recent years is there are fewer interesting scenes and interactions. It was getting to the point where few teams, if any, were volunteering to be on the show. I’d have to think the show (whether those involved acknowledge it or not) had to give teams more control of what makes it to TV to get them to do it. So do I expect full transparency? Absolutely not. I don’t believe the Ravens or any of the other teams featured would agree to it if that was the case. However, I still expect an interesting and entertaining show about a division that should get long overdue credit as the best in football.
GO DEEPER
Ravens stock report: Who rose, who fell during OTAs and minicamp?
Jackson: The big-spending Browns will probably build a separate bunker (I’m serious) to avoid getting anything they’d consider even 1 percent sensitive out to the world. Some would call their usual approach conservative, while others would call it extreme paranoia, so it will be interesting. To answer the question, “Hard Knocks” is still great conceptually but probably needed this shake-up. I hope it delivers, but I have skepticism.
Kaboly: This question answers itself. The reason why it’s not fresh and relevant anymore is because there is no transparency whatsoever. Add that to nearly every organization already having an in-house version of “Hard Knocks” (it’s called “The Standard” by the Steelers), and it has lost all of its luster. The last time I watched was when the Browns were featured to see former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley — and he didn’t disappoint.
Dehner: Who’s left without a documentary now? It feels like half the league has had this in one form or another in the last year, especially when you include all the team-produced content pumped into the ether. Maybe we can get a behind-the-scenes documentary about our Whiparound? An inside look at the group chat of ideas and live reading of the comments with Kaboly? There are worse shows out there. For this, though, I don’t think you’ll see full transparency, that’s just not the way it goes when they have veto power. But the combination of all those mics and cameras when the divisional games go down should produce enthralling theater. I’m certainly here for a mic’d-up Trey Hendrickson living up to his “Blackout Trey” nickname in the waning moments of a close game in Pittsburgh.
(Top photo of Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson: Jeff Dean / Associated Press)