Morning take: Roethlisberger takes part in competition

AFC North Blog

July, 25, 2009

Jul 25

9:40

AM ET

Email Print

By James Walker

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker

Here are the most interesting stories Saturday in the AFC North:

The entire first-day selections of the Cleveland Browns, including first-round pick Alex Mack, missed the opening for rookies to report on Friday.

Morning take: Whether this counts as a holdout or the veteran report date of Aug. 1 is debatable. But not having your top four rookies in on time is not an ideal start for Cleveland.

In a taping for a reality show, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger beat basketball star Shaquille O'Neal in a football skills competition.

Morning take: For one night at least, Roethlisberger was able to enjoy a slice of normalcy in what's been an extreme and abnormal week.

The Cincinnati Bengals' linebacking corps is healthy and ready to go for the 2009 season.

Morning take: It's a young group and a deep group that is expected to be an area of strength for the Bengals.

Finally, the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a one-year deal with veteran receiver Drew Bennett.

Morning take: Bennett is not a No. 1 receiver. But ideally the Ravens would like for Derrick Mason to return and for Bennett to provide quality depth at the position.

Tags:

Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Mack, Derrick Mason, AFC North, Cincinnati Bengals, NFL draft, Drew Bennett, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Shaquille O\'Neal

Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.