ITEM: Ravens sign Painter after 3-man tryout
The Ravens held something of a backup quarterback derby last week that included Dennis Dixon, Kyle Boller and Curtis Painter. And the winner was Painter.
Painter, Kyle Boller and Dennis Dixon all worked out for the team and the Ravens announced they signed Painter to a one-year deal. Painter started eight games for the Colts last season, and their coach at the time was Jim Caldwell, now the quarterbacks coach for the Ravens.
The Ravens have carried just two quarterbacks the last couple of seasons, and it's believed Tyrod Taylor will have the inside track on the primary backup job.
ITEM: Mayock says Browns should pick Richardson
During a pre-draft conference call, NFL Network's Mike Mayock said, "If you're not gonna take a quarterback, I think you have to take Trent Richardson. I don't think those receivers should be in this conversation (with the fourth overall pick). … I think Richardson's the guy at four.
"If you take (Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon," added Mayock, "you might not even be able to get him the ball on a windy day in Cleveland."
ITEM: Bengals-Ravens to open MNF season
During a 9-7 season that ended with a berth in the AFC Playoffs as a Wild Card team, the Cincinnati Bengals did not have a single game scheduled for primetime. But this year the Bengals are a part of the NFL's Kickoff Weekend when they visit Baltimore to face the Ravens in the first of the two Monday Night Football games scheduled for Week 1.
It will mark the third time in five years that the two teams have met in the season opener.
In addition to the opener, the Bengals will appear in primetime on Sunday, Oct. 21 vs. the Steelers, and on Thursday, Dec. 13 against the Eagles in Philadelphia. This represents the Bengals' most primetime appearances since they had four in 2007.
Said Coach Marvin Lewis in a statement about the schedule: "We start the season with a great opportunity playing our division champion and AFC semifinalist (Baltimore) at their place. You never know at this point where the biggest challenges on a schedule are going to be, but obviously it looks like we also will have two very crucial division games to close the schedule."
ITEM: Browns' pre-draft visits/workouts listed
Below is a list of prospects whom the Browns have reportedly hosted or worked out this year that was compiled by Nate Ulrich and appeared on thebeaconjournal.com:
The quarterbacks included Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill, Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden and Michigan State's Kirk Cousins; the wide receivers were Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon, Notre Dame's Michael Floyd and Baylor's Kendall Wright; the running backs were Alabama's Trent Richardson, Boise State's Doug Martin, Virginia Tech's David Wilson and Cincinnati's Isaiah Pead.
The offensive linemen included Georgia's Cordy Glenn, USC's Matt Kalil, Stanford's Jonathan Martin, Ohio State's Mike Adams, Midwestern State's Amini Silatolu, California's Mitchell Schwartz and Oklahoma's Donald Stephenson. Louisiana-Lafayette's Ladarius Green was the only tight end.
On defense, the cornerbacks were Morris Claiborne, South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore and Virginia Tech's Jayron Hosley; the linebackers were Nebraska's Lavonte David, Utah State's Bobby Wagner and Nevada's James-Michael Johnson; and the defensive linemen included Illinois' Whitney Mercilus, USC's Nick Perry, Syracuse's Chandler Jones, Boise State's Shea McClellin, West Virginia's Bruce Irvin, USC's Armond Armstead and LSU's Michael Brockers.
The Browns also reportedly worked out one punter – San Diego State's Brian Stahovich.
