{"id":737388,"date":"2026-02-08T05:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T05:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/737388\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T05:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T05:43:16","slug":"afc-notes-joe-burrow-todd-monken-bengals-browns-steelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/737388\/","title":{"rendered":"AFC Notes: Joe Burrow, Todd Monken, Bengals, Browns, Steelers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Burrow<\/a> made headlines last year when saying during a press conference that he wasn\u2019t having much fun playing because of his injuries. When asked if he is happy playing for the Bengals, Borrow responded: \u201cYeah, I am. I think, you know, everybody has bad days, right? Sometimes, they fall on press conference days\u2026so that\u2019s how it goes sometimes.\u201d (SleeperBengals<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Browns made the decision to hire Todd Monken as head coach over DC Jim Schwartz. Monken explained that they are not planning any changes to their defense, but wouldn\u2019t elaborate on whether Schwartz would be back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not planning to change the (defensive) system,\u201d Monken said, via Zac Jackson of The Athletic.<\/a> \u201cWe\u2019re built for the system the (players are) in currently. I\u2019m not gonna get into staffing (today) because it\u2019s not the time to get into that, but (the players) can rest assured we\u2019re going to keep the same system. We\u2019re still going to let them attack, still going to let them play free. I can\u2019t see any other way. They\u2019re a big reason why I took this job, the defensive players. I didn\u2019t take this job because of Jim Schwartz. I have a lot of respect for Jim Schwartz, as I would hope he has for me. But I took it for the players here, the ownership and (general manager) Andrew Berry \u2014 and the ability to build this roster from the ground up on the offensive side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monken reiterated that Cleveland\u2019s defensive talent was a big part of their success, not just Schwartz\u2019s coaching.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI said this to the other guys (and) I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d say it, but I\u2019m gonna say it (today). When I was preparing for the Cleveland Browns (in Baltimore), I wasn\u2019t trying to chip Jim Schwartz,\u201d Monken said. \u201cI was chipping Myles Garrett<\/a>. When I was sliding a protection to the outside linebackers or to Grant Delpit<\/a> blitzing off the edge, I was sliding the protection to the players. When I was worried about throwing to the right against Denzel Ward<\/a> or Tyson Campbell<\/a> to the left, that\u2019s what I was worried about.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the starting quarterback role, Monken said everything is still \u201cto be determined,\u201d but is excited to work with Shedeur Sanders<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think like any position on the team, (the starter) is still to be determined,\u201d Monken said. \u201cAm I excited about Shedeur? Am I excited about all the quarterbacks in the room? Am I excited to coach this football team? Absolutely. I can\u2019t wait for them to get back and for us to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> reports the Browns are expected to hire Steelers assistant Matt Baker as assistant QB coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Per Mark Kaboly<\/a>, the Steelers believe QB Aaron Rodgers<\/a> still wants to play under the right circumstances.\u00a0
\nKaboly isn\u2019t sure if RB Kenneth Gainwell<\/a> will return under the new regime despite his success last season.
\nRegarding WR Calvin Austin<\/a>, Kaboly \u201cwould be shocked\u201d if the wideout doesn\u2019t sign elsewhere.
\nHe thinks they should let G Isaac Seumalo<\/a>, ST Miles Killebrew<\/a> and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling<\/a> explore other opportunities, while they should look to bring back TE Connor Heyward<\/a> and CB Asante Samuel<\/a>.
\nDespite the lack of consistency with LB Patrick Queen<\/a>, Kaboly thinks he\u2019s more likely to be extended then released this offseason.
\nKaboly believes Pittsburgh should move on from TE Jonnu Smith<\/a> with a new staff coming in because of the cap savings.\u00a0
\nPer Kaboly, K Chris Boswell<\/a> will get a raise this year after not getting one last year that is in the range of the highest-paid at his position.
\nKaboly feels the Steelers should start negotiations with CB Joey Porter<\/a> Jr. at $25 million annually.\u00a0
\nWith other extension-eligible players, Kaboly believes they should retain DL Keeanu Benton<\/a>, OLB Nick Herbig<\/a> and TE Darnell Washington<\/a>. However, he thinks they should let LT Broderick Jones<\/a>, CB Cory Trice<\/a> and OL Spencer Anderson<\/a> play out the final years of their contracts.\u00a0
\nThe Steelers are expected to hire TCU assistant linebackers coach Eric Simonelli to HC Mike McCarthy\u2018s staff. (Matt Zenitz<\/a>)
\nThe Steelers are expected to hire Derius Swinton II as a senior special teams assistant coach. (Jonathan Jones<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?<\/p>\n

Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors<\/a> on X.com<\/a>\u00a0and FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Burrow made headlines last year when saying during a press conference that he wasn\u2019t having much fun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[1586,6991,465,86,4086,6204,85,54,2337,28205,24710,457,82057,106343,7,9314,22881,1577,7582,7470,1500,14451,2871,46662,7866,1720,6,6313,7584,17,20987,23813],"class_list":["post-737388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cleveland-browns","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-asante-samuel","tag-broderick-jones","tag-browns","tag-calvin-austin","tag-chris-boswell","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-clevelandbrowns","tag-connor-heyward","tag-cory-trice","tag-darnell-washington","tag-derius-swinton","tag-eric-simonelli","tag-football","tag-isaac-seumalo","tag-jim-schwartz","tag-joe-burrow","tag-joey-porter-jr","tag-jonnu-smith","tag-keeanu-benton","tag-kenneth-gainwell","tag-marquez-valdes-scantling","tag-matt-baker","tag-mike-mccarthy","tag-miles-killebrew","tag-nfl","tag-nick-herbig","tag-patrick-queen","tag-shedeur-sanders","tag-spencer-anderson","tag-todd-monken"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}