The official end of 2022 NFL training camps was barely noticed.
Most teams broke camp over a week ago to settle into their regular practice facilities, although there’s still a preseason game to be played, a roster to pare down, and team health to be agonized over. The AFC North has a few unresolved questions:
- The Ravens are presumably still dickering over a long-term contract with QB Lamar Jackson, as Jackson’s self-professed negotiating window of Week 1 of the regular season remains one of the few details most are sure of. The sticking point is, as often evident these days, guaranteed money.
- Per long-time analyst Peter King, controversy-addled QB Deshaun Watson has begun his court-mandated counseling, and as the article implies, it remains to be seen whether Watson will ever fully accept his own culpability in the wake of an independent arbitrator’s ruling and the NFL’s subsequent appeal, not to mention his self-professed innocence.
- No real surprises in this 53-man roster projection for the Bengals. The biggest point of interest remains the offensive line and protection for recent appendectomy survivor and QB Joe Burrow. Given recent injuries at G, the team may be eyeing possible castoffs for temporary roles.
- The Steelers are contending with a suspect offensive line, which hasn’t helped the QB room in their ongoing competition for the starting role. This is a problem the team has been grappling with for a couple of years, and without the quick release tendencies of retired QB Ben Roethlisberger, could prove fatal to offensive game plans.
Short stuff this week. Enjoy.
Clarf
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