Bengals

Bengals first-round DE Shemar Stewart signed his rookie contract to end a contentious holdout last month, putting a late start to his training camp workouts. Cincinnati DC Al Golden highly praised Stewart’s versatility and ability to come off the edge.

“Whether you agree or disagree, or whatever your philosophy is, or whatever your opinion was of Shemar, that player is rare,” Golden said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “Coming out of the draft, somebody that can come off the edge, one play, play in the B gap, two plays later, play in the C gap, set the edge, do multiple things. It’s just rare.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor said they can feel Stewart’s impact in practice.

“The power, the disruptiveness, there’s a lot of words you can use,” Taylor said. “You feel his impact, and I stand back there and call all the plays so you get an evaluation of people very quickly when you’re trying to have success as an offense and drive the ball down the field in practice. You form opinions and evaluations of guys very quickly, and he’s a guy that’s made an impact on me, I know that.”

Browns

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer expects the Browns to go with veteran QB Joe Flacco as the starter until the team falls out of playoff contention, at which point it becomes more important to see what the team has in the rookies.
• ESPN’s Benjamin Solak writes Browns third-round TE Harold Fannin is on track to have a role in the offense as a rookie, as the team plans to rely heavily on multi-tight end sets this season.
• Per the Athletic’s Zac Jackson, Flacco discussed being named the starting quarterback for Week 1 and his approach during camp to the competition: “Business as usual. You keep your head down, try to have a good camp. I don’t know if I was very emotional about it but listen, you don’t take for granted opportunities in this league.”
• Asked if he was the starter for the season or until further notice, Flacco responded: “We all know how that works.”
• Flacco is 40 years old but says he’s not feeling his age: “I feel as good as I ever have. My arm feels just as good as ever.” (Andrew Siciliano)
• Browns HC Kevin Stefanski declined to name a backup behind Flacco, with veteran Kenny Pickett, third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders all jockeying for spots and dealing with injuries. (Scott Petrak)
• New Browns UDFA WR Isaiah Bond spoke to reporters for the first time and addressed allegations of sexual assault, which were no-billed in Texas last week and cleared the way for Cleveland to sign him: “Since Day 1, I have proclaimed my innocence and I stand here today the same way. Excited to show the Browns they made the right decision.” (Jackson)
• Bond said he felt like the Browns were especially interested in him throughout the...