CINCINNATI, Ohio – In a strange coincidence, Greg Little inherited the locker vacated by current Browns wideout Andrew Hawkins.

The former Bengals receiver was a popular player here and a go-to quote before signing with the Browns in the offseason. Hawkins, however, never gave reporters anything as provocative as Little provided Tuesday afternoon.

The ex-Browns receiver, who fell out of favor over his penchant for dropped passes and speeding tickets, said Thursday night's showdown with the Browns is "personal" and that "somebody's has to pay."

It's not as though a matchup between the Browns (5-3) and Bengals (5-2-1) needed any stoking but Little, who played the past three seasons in Cleveland, supplied it. He even took a shot at Mike Pettine, saying the new Browns coach did not communicate with players around the Berea facility -- at least when Little was still part of the team prior to his May 16 release.

"Everything about this game is personal for me and I'm going to treat it that way," said Little, signed by the Bengals Oct. 14 after being released by the Raiders. "And I'm going to put my team in the best position to win."

Little, who's appeared in three games with the Bengals, was asked to elaborate on the "personal" angle.

"How the whole release was handled," he said. "I just knew there would be a time I would play the Browns. I felt like it was inevitable and the time has come . . .

"I was coming into a new coaching staff and they were looking at me to come in and play well. I had a great relationship with them and the front office decided to go another direction and hopefully I will make them pay."

The Browns cut him after news of Josh Gordon's looming drug suspension was made public. The receiving corps was in a state of flux, but it didn't stop management from releasing Little, who caught 155 passes for 1,821 yards and eight touchdowns in 48 games with the Browns.

The wideout believes general manager Ray Farmer was "100 percent" behind his ouster, but Little saved his most intriguing remarks for Pettine.

"I did not get along with Pettine," he said. "Pettine doesn't talk with any of his players. Like you will walk past him in the hallway and he won't even speak to you. To have that type of (approach) for a coach is kind of odd. I can't go out and say I'm going to lay it on the line for a guy who won't even speak to me if we were the only two people in the hallway.

So Pettine never spoke to Little?

"He never spoke to anybody," he said.

It would be inaccurate to characterize Little's comments as a rant. His remarks were expressed as matter-of-fact. Little never raised his voice. It's almost as he if he were waiting to be asked about the topic.

Little spoke highly of his former teammates, and remains in contact with good friend Josh Gordon.

"(Gordon) is going to pick up where he left off," Little said of All Pro receiver who must serve two more games on a 10-game suspension. "Josh is a tremendous talent and everybody in this league knows that. He's done everything up until now to return."

Little said Hawkins called him shortly after he arrived in Cincinnati last month. The Browns receiver told Little that he "was in a good spot and that the coaches are great guys."

The Bengals receiver dropped the first pass thrown to him from Andy Dalton, but has four receptions for 155 yards in three games. Little played a key role in the Bengals' 27-24 win over the Ravens making three catches, including a third-down reception on the game-winning drive.

He addressed the perception that the receiver had "character problems."

"Those types of things are fluttered through however they get out but if you go back and look at the comments from previous coordinators and coaches they have quoted that I was the hardest working player on the team," he said. "I am not trying to discredit other players on that team, but I'm trying to say when I'm at work I am working and I'm going to do everything to get my team better."

Little did enjoy a strong preseason a year ago with former coach Rob Chudzinski hailing the extra work he put in after practice. But Little and former Browns receiver Davone Bess struggled mightily and were ranked as the NFL's two worst receivers, according to FootballOutsiders.com, a website that tracks performance through advance analytics.

The North Carolina product said he was surprised by the timing of his release in Cleveland.

"They let me go with virtually no wide receivers outside," he said. "Hawkins is playing well, that's a good credit to him but it was kind of a good time — I don't know what it was, man. They let me go, I'm playing them and somebody has to pay."