AFC Notes: Maxx Crosby, Michael Pittman Jr., Browns, Ravens, Steelers

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Browns Browns HC Todd Monken said that he tried to convince LG Joel Bitonio to return to the team, but is giving him his time to make a decision. “ He came up to the office a few weeks ago and we tried to talk him into it right then, ” Monken said, via Cleveland.com . “ But he was not in that position yet to say he wanted to come back. I’m for really good football players and I’m for really good football players that are wired like Joel. There’s not many wired like Joel. I like what he says, how he carries himself, how he prepares. I mean it’s unbelievable. He’s a rare, I mean how many years was it that he’s played now? 12? And the pounding he’s taken and continued to play at such a high level. ” Bitonio added that he wants to know the situation that he’s stepping into and wants to play with a stable quarterback. “ At the end of the day, the National Football League is a quarterback league, right? ” Bitonio said. “ If you have an elite quarterback in this league, it allows you to be a little bit more sustained in your success, right? And it’s not me saying like, ‘Do we know if Shedeur or Dillon or Deshaun or any of these guys are that guy, right? We have those guys in our locker room, but until you have a guy that can stay healthy and can be on the field and be that guy for your team, it’s hard to have that sustained success. Look at all the playoff teams this year, all the teams that consistently make it every year. It’s usually the Patrick Mahomes , Josh Allens, the great quarterbacks in this league. And so until you find one that’s stable and can lead your team, it’s going to be hard to not ride the roller coaster of wins and losses. ” Bitonio added that he likely won’t make a decision for at least a couple more months. “ It’s so hard, ” he said. “Y ou get to the offseason, no matter what, there’s this sigh of like … It’s hard to be like, ‘Hey, I’m retiring right now,’ and you don’t do anything till June or July anyway. So, it’s tough to make the decision. I think I’m in a similar boat as I was last year .” SI.com’s Albert Breer names the Dolphins, Browns, Jets and Cardinals as teams looking to 2027 for a quarterback. While none of the options are locked in as top-five picks now, there are numerous players who can rise to that level compared to the 2025 and 2026 classes. Ravens The Ravens sent waves around the NFL when they backed out of an agreed trade for Raiders DE Maxx Crosby due to a failed physical. Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta understands the outside questions about the situation, but feels he was just doing what was best for the organization. “We live in that age of skepticism, and people question, especially people that don’t really know me or know the Ravens’ culture and the Ravens’ organization. I understand it,” DeCosta said, via Mike Sando and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic . “I’ve got a responsibility for the Ravens, to this community, to our fans and to (owner) Steve Bisciotti to do what we think is best for the club.” Many around the league were skeptical of the timing, as Baltimore backed out when DE Trey Hendrickson went unsigned through the legal tampering period. One team executive believes the trade was a way to give Baltimore an insurance plan in case they missed out on Hendrickson, and thinks the analysis should have been done earlier. “I cannot believe whoever did the Ravens’ analytics said, ‘It would be better for us to not have two first-round picks with Maxx Crosby instead of having Trey Hendrickson with th…