Browns
Browns LG Joel Bitonio believes that the team should retain HC Kevin Stefanski for next season to build and maintain continuity.
“He’s a good coach in the NFL,” Bitonio said of Stefanski, via BrownsZone.com. “He will tell you first that winning matters and we haven’t done that (lately). But as a coach goes, I have the highest respect for him, what he’s done here. I know it is what you’ve done now, but we’ve been to two playoffs. We’ve had winning records. We’ve been competitive. Where we’re at right now, we don’t want to be there. But I think if we get the right pieces and we keep improving, I think that’s a guy you can build around.”
“Two-time Coach of the Year, he has the respect of his peers. He’s even-keeled. I think you saw this last week. The team is motivated to play. We’re trying to win games. I think he has the respect of the locker room. I think it’s just a guy you keep around and you build around. And that would be my focus if I were in charge of that,” Bitonio continued. “Some of the other coaches that I’ve played for didn’t have 11 wins. They didn’t have playoff wins. They didn’t have playoff appearances. They didn’t have a six-year sample size,” Bitonio said. “We are not where we want to be. We expect it to be higher. When you talk about expectations and reality and things of that nature, I have the utmost respect for him. I just think you keep allowing him to coach the Browns, and I think we’ll be in a good place in the future. Until that quarterback position is solved in the NFL, it is hard to win games. It is the most important position in sports. It is difficult for a coach to deftly navigate that.”
- Browns DE Myles Garrett still needs a sack to break the record heading into the team’s final game against the Bengals in Week 18. Garrett said after the win over the Steelers that he remains confident he can break the record.
Browns
- Scott Petrak of BrownsZone.com says that the team’s evaluation of the quarterback position could completely change if GM Andrew Berry and/or Stefanski are fired.
- Petrak notes that if the Browns decide to draft a quarterback such as Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or Oregon’s Dante Moore, there may be nothing QB Shedeur Sanders can do to retain his starting job next season.
- Meanwhile, Petrak says if the team is unable to land the quarterback they want in this year’s draft, Sanders could see time in 2026 to prove he can be the full-time starter.
- Another player who Petrak believes will not earn a starting position is G Zak Zinter, who has not played much and has even been a healthy scratch despite G Wyatt Teller missing three games with a calf injury.
Ravens
With a massive game against the Packers that saw him score four touchdowns, Ravens RB Derrick Henry passed Hall of Fame RB Tony Dorsett for 10th on the all-time career rushing yards list and also overtook Adrian Peterson for fourth all-time in rushing touchdowns.
Henry currently sits at 12,892 rushing yards and 122 rushing touchdowns and can topple two more Hall of Famers: Eric Dickerson (13,259) for rushing yards and Marcus Allen (123) for rushing touchdowns. He has already passed Browns RB Jim Brown and Bears RB Walter Payton in rushing touchdowns this year.
“I’m so thankful and so blessed, and God has been so good,” Henry said of his milestones, via NFL.com. “Every teammate and coach that has contributed throughout my career for me to have those accolades and the success I’ve had, I’m just very appreciative. As a kid, growing up hearing those names, idolizing those guys, and my name to be mentioned with theirs, it’s a surreal moment for me and something that I’ll always cherish.”
Henry was hoping to play for the AFC North title against the Steelers in Week 18 with a Browns win, and got his wish.
“Hopefully we get blessed with the opportunity to play for something in Week 18, but at the end of the day, we’re still going to focus on finishing the season strong,” Henry mentioned. “We do need a little favor from Cleveland, but it is what it is. We know what’s at stake, the position that we’re in.”
- Ravens LB David Ojabo was fined $13,980 for a hip-drop tackle.
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