Ja’Marr Chase has apologized for spitting at Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey. But he didn’t specifically apologize to Ramsey himself.

Chase and Joe Burrow may be returning in Cincinnati at a good time for Steelers fans. The Browns are staying with Shedeur Sanders at quarterback. And we’ve got some clarity surrounding those recent reports about the Pirates’ alleged willingness to spend money in Tuesday’s “First Call.”

Forgetting someone?

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was suspended for his team’s 26-20 loss to New England Sunday. That was the result of him spitting on Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey two weeks ago.

On Monday, he issued an apology via social media to the NFL community, his fans, his own team and “the Steelers organization.”

Yet he did not mention Ramsey by name.

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A post shared by Ja’Marr Chase (@lahjay10_)

Initially, the Bengals receiver appealed his suspension, but it was upheld. Chase lost over $500,000 in salary and whatever per-game bonuses he may have had in his contract.

Burrow vs. Baltimore

Chase will be back from his one-game suspension Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, and he may have Joe Burrow throwing him the football.

The Bengals’ (3-8) star quarterback has been out since Week 2. But now, via Fox 19 in Cincinnati, head coach Zac Taylor says he anticipates having Burrow back on the field Thanksgiving night.

"One of my favorite things in life is watching Joe Burrow play football."

Two minutes with Zac Taylor leading up to the anticipated return of Joe Burrow on Thanksgiving night. pic.twitter.com/HwglLSugmv

— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) November 24, 2025

“He has just worked really hard to put himself in this position to be available to play for us. Credit to him. He’s worked behind the scenes when no one’s paying attention, doing everything he can to try to help this team win games,” Taylor said. “He’s a football player that just wants to get on the field and play football.”

Taylor says the ramp-up period has been steady for Burrow.

“He’s been throwing a lot. He started doing 11-on-11 last week, trying to mentally get himself ready to play against the Patriots. We made a decision to hold him out. Now he’ll hopefully be ready to go on Thursday, if that’s the decision we end up making,” Taylor continued. “He’s done everything he can to put himself in a position to be successful.”

At 6-5, the Ravens have tied the Steelers for first place atop the AFC North, and they currently own the divisional tiebreaker.

Burrow is only 3-6 in his career against the Ravens. But he has compiled a 104.8 passer rating against them, and a 21:5 touchdown to interception ratio.

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Staying with Shedeur

Also in the division, the Cleveland Browns are sticking with Shedeur Sanders at quarterback even though the previous starter, Dillon Gabriel, is healthy. That’s the word from Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski via ESPN.com. 

Shedeur Sanders will make his first start at Huntington Bank Field Sunday when the #Browns host the #49ers, Coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. Stefanski expects Sanders to build on his success from the 24-10 win over the #Raiders. pic.twitter.com/1vRZUpRftZ

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 24, 2025

“I’m just going to focus on this week,” Stefanski said when asked if Sanders’ appointment was permanent.

Sanders completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown during the Browns’ 24-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. That was his first NFL start.

“The No. 1 job of a quarterback is to win,” Stefanski said. “Excited to get that first win under his belt. The next thing is improvement. That’s what young players do. Certainly, young quarterbacks do. You get one game better, and that’s just from working at it.”

Gabriel started the previous five games before suffering a concussion against the Ravens in Week 11. Sanders replaced him for the second half of that loss and Sunday’s win over the Raiders. The Browns were 1-4 in Gabriel’s starts.

The Steelers visit Cleveland on Dec. 28.

Nothing to Naylor

In a plan to land Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor, the Pirates were “primed to spend more than twice” the $39 million they did when they inked free agent pitcher Francisco Liriano in 2014.

That was according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan in a post earlier this month. 

However, in a Monday column at The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported that an offer was never actually extended because Naylor re-signed with the Mariners for $92 million too quickly.

That said, the duo does corroborate Passan’s assertion that the Pirates are “expressing interest” in Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.

However, Drellich and Rosenthal list infielders Jorge Polanco (Seattle), Ryan O’Hearn (San Diego) and Kazuma Okamoto (Yomiuri Giants, Japan) “as perhaps more realistic free-agent options.”

Should their attempts to lure free agents fail, The Athletic post suggests the Pirates may try to swing a trade with division rival St. Louis to land one or more of their left-handed hitters: Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman.

LISTEN: Tim Benz and Joe Rutter discuss Mike Tomlin’s Tuesday press conference in advance of the Buffalo Bills game

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