Pittsburgh seemingly misses out on another All-Pro WR trade

Four potential WR trade targets have come and gone for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the Rams’ HC seemingly ended the Cooper Kupp trade hype.

From excitment to disappointment, what a difference a day makes. Head Coach Sean McVay crushed the hearts of Pittsburgh Steelers fans in the post-game press conference following Thursday Night Football’s matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.

The most recent WR trade target on the Steelers’ radar was none other than 31-year-old All-Pro Cooper Kupp of the Rams. The superstar wideout had a solid outing on Thursday Night Football, and McVay took notice. While speaking to the media, the Rams head coach alluded to the trade rumors and practically dashed any hopes of the ‘Steel City’ acquiring the talented receiver.

 

Are fans placing too much pressure on the shoulders of General Manager Omar Khan and the Steelers’ front office?  Possibly, however, Khan should never have traded away the number one receiver in Pittsburgh, Diontae Johnson, without a proper backup plan in place.

Steelers’ RB Cordarrelle Patterson may end up being the last line of defense for recruiting a star player to Pittsburgh, and WR Mike Williams of the New York Jets could fit that bill.

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Legendary Steelers safety credits his NFL career to Danny Smith

Ex-Steelers safety Ryan Clark credited his former special teams coach Danny Smith with giving him his first NFL start.

When fans think of a Steelers legend who consistently poured his heart and soul out on the field for the team, they look no further than former safety Ryan Clark.

Clark is regarded as one of the many great safeties to come through the Steel City, and none of it would have been possible without one coach in particular. The former safety turned ESPN analyst credited Danny Smith, who is now the Steelers special teams coach, with giving him his first shot in the NFL with the Washington Redskins.

Smith made headlines last week on “Sunday Night Football” when he displayed his passion for his unit’s elite set of plays, one of which was incorrectly called back.

Clark’s admiration for Smith speaks volumes about the type of environment that Pittsburgh has fostered for generations.

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Steelers RB hilariously asks fans who to recruit next

Cordarrelle Patterson’s recruitment of elite talent to Pittsburgh has resumed, and the Steelers’ RB asks fans who to recruit next.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Cordarrelle Patterson is becoming a fan favorite for the Pittsburgh faithful.  While the Steelers’ acquisition of Patterson was aimed at boosting the running game and special teams unit, the running back has provided something even more valuable—his efforts in recruiting Steelers’ trade targets.

From returning kickoffs and delivering a dominant Week 4 rushing performance, to offering comedic relief during tough times for the team, Patterson has done it all. The running back made his best attempts to recruit Pittsburgh trade targets Davante Adams and Mike Williams, and with the trade deadline around the corner, Patterson is now asking fans who he should recruit next.

One 31-year old All-Pro receiver has been linked to the ‘Steel City’ the past few days. Could Cooper Kupp be the next receiver to hear Patterson’s legendary sales pitch? Or does the running back have another receiver in mind? As the trade deadline approaches, when will Pittsburgh make their move?

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Predicting Tomlin’s plan for rookie CB with Sutton’s imminent return

Rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. is coming off an elite Week 7 performance. With veteran CB Cam Sutton returning in Week 9, what is Tomlin’s plan?

Just when one positional battle seems to end, another one begins.  Pittsburgh Steelers rookie slot cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. turned heads on Sunday Night Football with his dominant Week 7 performance, picking off the three-time league MVP, Aaron Rodgers, not once but twice!

However, his elite play created more questions than answers at the slot cornerback position, as cornerback Cameron Sutton is returning from suspension in Week 9.

Sutton was suspended for the first eight weeks of the 2024 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and his inevitable return to the slot cornerback position conflicts heavily with the rookies currently level of play.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin may choose to handle the situation similarly to how he allowed the QB battle to play out.  In Week 9, Tomlin could allow Sutton to get the starting nod, and steal the starting duties away from Beanie if the veteran produces.

What do all of you think?  How should Tomlin handle the upcoming slot cornerback battle?

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ESPN reporter believes Steelers’ WR may be traded by Nov 5th deadline

ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor predicted the Steelers could include WR Calvin Austin in a trade package for a more established veteran WR.

Brooke Pryor, a reporter for ESPN, provided a preview highlighting a potential move the Pittsburgh Steelers could make by the 2024 NFL trade deadline.

In this article, Pryor suggested that the Pittsburgh Steelers might package their third-year wide receiver, Calvin Austin, along with a late-round draft pick to acquire a veteran receiver.

Austin is entering a contract year next season, and the Steelers could benefit from finding teams interested in the speedy, dynamic wideout.

As for which veteran receiver the Steelers might target, that was left to speculation and interpretation. Several of Pittsburgh’s trade targets have come and gone, but one big name has been linked to the team in recent days—Los Angeles Rams’ WR Cooper Kupp.

Could the Pittsburgh Steelers avoid paying the hefty compensation package the Rams are seeking, and instead offer slightly less capital by including Austin in the deal?  Only time will, but it appears a possible trade could happen any day now, as other NFL teams are finalizing trades at a blazing pace.

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Primanti Bros is cooking with new Russell Wilson-inspired sandwich

A new Russell Wilson-inspired sandwich is now available to purchase, made by noneother than Pittsburgh’s own, Promanti Bros.

Watch out ‘Dangerwich’, there’s a new Russell Wilson inspired sandwich in town, and this time, it’s being done right.

Primanti Bros, a popular sandwich staple of Pittsburgh cuisine, announced on social media that a new creation is on the way, inspired by Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 7 starting QB, and is called ‘The DangeRuss’.  Whether Pittsburgh is letting Russ cook the Giants defense on Monday Night Football, or Primanti Bros is cooking up this delicious sandwich for fans, Wilson is the talk of town right now.

All of this comes after an outstanding seasonal debut this past Sunday Night Football against the New York Jets, where Wilson accumulated three total touchdowns, threw for a 109.0 passer rating, and set the Steelers’ debut passing yards record.

DangeRuss, AKA Mr. Unlimited, will look to lead his Steelers’ to their third straight victory when they host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, October 27th at 8:15 PM EST.

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AFC playoff picture: Where does Pittsburgh currently factor in?

A few weeks away from the 2024 season’s halfway mark, here are the AFC’s current standings and playoff picture through seven weeks.

It feels like it was only yesterday when fans were speculating over the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcon’s, but with the trade deadline around the corner, and only a few weeks away from being half-way through the 2024 season, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape.

Currently, the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North.  The Ravens currently hold the tie breaker over the Steelers, due to Baltimore having a better divisional record of 1-0.  With this in mind, Pittsburgh currently holds the top Wild Card playoff spot as the 5th seed in the AFC overall.

There is currently a four-way tie for the second-overall seed in the AFC playoff picture.  Pittsburgh could realistically take the number one seed if the team can defeat the Chiefs on Christmas day and Ravens twice this season.

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Former Steelers’ All-Pro WR predicts Davante Adams to Pittsburgh

Former Steelers All-Pro WR Antonio Brown predicts that Davante Adams will soon be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Can Omar Khan make it a reality?

There have been plenty of former and current Steelers players lobbying for Davante Adams to come to the ‘Steel City.’ Rumors and speculation, such as Adams following George Pickens on social media, only deepen the rabbit hole of fantasy that we Steelers fans dive into.

However, one former Steelers receiver, five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown, seems to be making some accurate predictions on the Steelers’ player acquisitions and NFL moves. Brown correctly predicted the Steelers signing Russell Wilson well before it became public knowledge, and he did the same with the Bills-Texans trade for Stefon Diggs. Now, Brown has a new prediction, this time focused on a Pittsburgh trade:

Brown was one of the few speculating that Brandon Aiyuk would be traded to the Steelers, only for the deal to fall apart in the final hours.

Is the member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team onto something, or is this simply a former Steeler wishing his team luck? One thing remains for certain: if the Steelers are in win-now mode, Adams should be acquired.

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Opinion: Eli Manning’s complicated legacy as Giants quarterback is worthy of Hall of Fame

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The moment was symbolic and emotional, the perfect glimpse into a future that has finally become the present for Eli Manning. The legendary New York Giants quarterback had just finished what many believed would be the final …

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The moment was symbolic and emotional, the perfect glimpse into a future that has finally become the present for Eli Manning.

The legendary New York Giants quarterback had just finished what many believed would be the final post-game news conference of his career back in December, he had picked up his bag while walking off the podium and quickly exited the interview room.

Reporters and cameras scrambling in his wake, Manning hustled through a crowded MetLife Stadium hallway when he was met unexpectedly by three oncoming rushers.

The best part is what happened next: a player whose job for 16 years was to avoid such a situation did not even try to dodge them.

No. 10 took the sack, shared by his three daughters: Ava Frances, 8, Lucy Thomas, 6, and Caroline Olivia, 5. Abby, his wife, held their 10-month old son Charlie Elisha, watched from a few yards away, smiling.

That was the point where it seemed like retirement started to feel right for Eli Manning.

That day he took the final snap of a decorated career and not only left the stadium with a victory, but his family by his side – the ultimate snap shot of a football life well lived, perhaps foreshadowing even greater things to come.

Forty days later, the 39-year-old Manning will officially announce that he is retiring from the game at a news conference Friday morning.

His legacy is complicated, and the debate over his Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy will surely continue because, well, that’s what we do with everything nowadays.

He is seventh all-time in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He has seven seasons of more than 4,000 yards passing and three with more than 30 touchdown passes.

His streak of durability is incredible with 210 consecutive starts, second all-time to Brett Favre when it ended in 2017, and he never missed a game due to injury.

He bested Tom Brady and Bill Belichick on the biggest stage in sports not once but twice, winning the Most Valuable Player award in Super Bowl XLII and then again in Super Bowl XLVI four years later.

There were those incredible highs and shake-your-head lows – Manning led the league in interceptions three times – and his career regular season record of 117-117 speaks to the mediocrity that has defined Giants football for much of the past decade.

But years from now, when Brady and Belichick are being lauded for the greatest run for a quarterback and coach combination in NFL history, just remember the part Manning has played in those legacies. That, in and of itself, is worthy of a Hall of Fame bust in Canton, Ohio.

How beloved is Manning by many Giants fans?

When you call him the greatest quarterback in the 95-year history of the franchise, somehow that is perceived as a slight because, in their eyes, he is so much more.

And in some ways, they are right.

“For 16 seasons, Eli Manning defined what it is to be a New York Giant both on and off the field,” co-owner and team president John Mara said, adding: “He represented our franchise as a consummate professional with dignity and accountability. It meant something to Eli to be the Giants quarterback, and it meant even more to us.”

The amazing part of Manning’s longevity with the Giants, and perhaps the most frustrating part, is that he was largely a myth for teammates in recent years.

Those who won with Eli were long gone, replaced by younger ones who watched him win on TV, but did not win with him.

The respect was always there, but there’s a different bond for the Giants of the Super Bowls of 2007 and 2011 and the players who have come through since.

You stay for 16 years, you’re a part of multiple generations.

Manning was present for the best and worst the Giants have been.

Hall of Famer Harry Carson suffered a similar fate with the Giants in the late 1970s, His career was almost a complete reversal of what Manning lived through: unfathomable losing early followed by greatness late that culminated in Super Bowl XXI in 1986 and the first of four Vince Lombardi trophies for the franchise.

Manning played a significant role in bringing home two of those for Big Blue.

Manning will forever be linked with Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers and Philip Rivers of the Chargers – three iconic quarterbacks drafted in the Class of 2004. All three can make their Hall of Fame case, even though Rivers is without the two Super Bowl rings Manning and Roethlisberger have won in their respective tenures.

Considering what has transpired in their respective markets, neither Roethlisberger nor Rivers would have survived New York and had the success here Manning did.

The trio ended up where they were supposed to end up.

Manning was destined for the Big Apple, and he made sure of that, his desires to not play in San Diego having helped orchestrate a draft day trade that brought the No. 1 overall pick from Ole Miss to the Giants.

“It’s easy to say the championships, and I think those are special memories,” Manning said when asked of what he is most proud during his career. “I think just the work every day, came in committed to getting better and finding ways to win games and to improve myself and improve my teammates. I’m proud of the friendships and being a good teammate to all the guys that came in here. Trying to help out anybody who needed help and work. I think the commitment was there and sometimes you got the result, sometimes you didn’t. I think I always gave myself, this team and this organization everything I had.”

Which is why Manning’s legacy as a giant among Giants will last forever.

 

Not a question of if, but when Las Vegas hosts College Football Playoff or Final Four

College football is bringing its national championship game to New Orleans on Monday for the fifth time, cementing its status as America’s preeminent venue for big sporting events. In the modern era, no city has hosted more Super Bowls, more …

College football is bringing its national championship game to New Orleans on Monday for the fifth time, cementing its status as America’s preeminent venue for big sporting events. In the modern era, no city has hosted more Super Bowls, more BCS/College Football Playoff title games or more Final Fours.

But as we enter the 2020s, America’s sports host of the future could be up for grabs because of Las Vegas, which suddenly has two major professional teams, more than $2 billion worth of new facilities and a strong desire to attract the same events that regularly come through New Orleans. The only question is, will the Final Four or the CFP championship game get there first?

“I’ll be in shock if they don’t come to Las Vegas,” said Jim Livengood, the longtime former athletics director at Arizona and UNLV, who has spent significant time in his retirement lobbying for big college sports events to come to Las Vegas. “It has to be the right event for the right site for the right time of year, and it doesn’t fit for every sport. But for five or six it works really well.”

Last May, the NCAA finally rescinded its policy that banned championship events from being played in states that offered sports gambling, which previously only applied to Nevada but was suddenly going to eliminate more than 10 states that immediately legalized it in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2018 decision.

Of course, the NCAA rule never made sense in the first place. Beyond college programs coming to play at UNLV and Nevada for decades, Las Vegas has hosted a bowl game since 1992, the Mountain West basketball tournament since 2000 and the Pac-12 tournament since 2013. Moreover, with online and offshore sports gambling becoming prevalent over the last decade, the stigma of college games being played in close proximity to casinos and sports books is no longer tethered to reality.

Still, it’ll be a big moment for college sports when the NCAA or the CFP eventually bring their championship events to Las Vegas. But when’s it going to happen, and once it does, will Sin City become as much a part of the regular rotation that hosts these things as New Orleans, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas and Indianapolis?

“We know that Las Vegas is an attractive destination for championships and we fully believe we are becoming the epicenter of sports,” UNLV athletics director Desiree Reed-Francois said. “In conjunction with our community partners, we’re being aggressive in trying to host championship events.”


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The biggest issue, at least in the near-term, is availability. Though the NCAA men’s basketball committee met and toured venues in Las Vegas last summer and has a delegation visiting again in the coming weeks, Final Four sites are booked through 2026, though Las Vegas could bid on NCAA tournament regional sites as early as 2023.

As an independent organization, the CFP is not bound by whatever decision the NCAA makes with respect to Las Vegas and the basketball tournament but only has two unawarded championship games in 2025 and 2026, which marks the end of the Playoff’s current 12-year contract with ESPN. The bidding process for those games is yet to begin, but Las Vegas has already indicated it will make a strong run at holding one of them in the new $1.8 billion Allegiant Stadium, which sits just across Interstate 15 from the South end of the Strip.

Bill Hancock, the CFP’s executive director, wrote in an email that he expects a number of cities to be interested hosting for 2026 and 2026 and noted that “it has been good for college football” that they’ve awarded the game around to 10 different places for the first 10 years of the event.

“It wouldn’t be right for me to speculate about any potential host,” Hancock said. “I don’t want to handicap the field, except to say it will be a fascinating race.”

Las Vegas should be a no-brainer for one of those two slots, though, and the CFP should be positioning itself to get there before the Super Bowl (2025 is the NFL’s next open slot) and the Final Four, as there could be significant cachet that comes along with being first.

But there are a couple potential complications.

Also see:

When and where to watch LSU vs. Clemson National Championship game

The CFP is going to Miami in 2021, Indianapolis in 2022, the new Los Angeles stadium in 2023 and Houston in 2024. Would going back out to the Pacific time zone in 2025 be too soon after L.A.? Also, the Consumer Electronics Show, which brings 170,000 people to Vegas annually, often takes place in a similar window to the CFP championship game around that weekend after New Year’s. The CES has not posted dates for 2025 and 2026 yet, but that could be a potential complication to keep in mind.

If that hurdle could be worked out, though, Vegas could very well establish itself as the absolute best venue for the game period. As fans have discovered over the first six years of the CFP, it is not a bowl week type of event. Fans typically come in at some point the weekend before the Monday night game and leave the next day. Also, because the travel plans for the winning semifinal teams are made on somewhat short notice, availability of affordable flights and hotel rooms is paramount.

From that standpoint, places like Dallas and Atlanta work exceedingly well. For entertainment options and good weather, cities like New Orleans and Miami come to the front of the pack. But it’s hard to imagine anywhere combining ease of travel with logistics like Las Vegas.

“There’s so many similarities to New Orleans,” Livengood said. “Everything is so darn close. The stadium, there isn’t anything you can’t do just by walking to it. It checks every single box. And the big thing is Vegas wants it. Vegas has really stepped up in terms of realizing this can be a market for athletics.”

This weekend in New Orleans, tens of thousands of LSU and Clemson fans will be taking over the French Quarter prior to the national championship on Monday night, a tradition that dates back decades for college sports fans. Hopefully, it will continue for decades more.

But the momentum is there now for Vegas to provide the same kind of platform for the biggest events in the coming years. Hopefully it won’t take college athletics much longer to embrace it.

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