First Call: Longtime member of Steelers franchise retires; Penguins on fringes of potential goalie trade derby
Share this post:
The Pittsburgh Steelers are saying “thank you” to a longtime member of the organization. Some moves are being made in the AFC North. The Penguins are on the fringes of a potential offseason goalie derby. The Pirates got a little help in the standings.
And tracking the San Francisco 49ers quarterback situation may get tiring.
All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”
Holding your breath for Hellebuyck?
If the Pittsburgh Penguins decide to move on from goalie Tristan Jarry, one option is trading for Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck.
But he is heading into the last year of his contract, and he’ll make $6.16 million against the salary cap this year.
Yet, the Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin includes the Penguins among the seven teams most likely to swing a trade for the 30-year-old goaltender.
That said, Larkin seems to think the Penguins are a longshot.
“Armed with weak forward depth and one of the ugliest prospect crops in the NHL, the Penguins are asset-poor,” Larkin posted. “What pieces would they have to offer the Jets, who reportedly are looking for more of a reload trade to stay competitive in the present? They don’t have any top-end prospects, and if they were to relinquish a Jake Guentzel or Bryan Rust, it would decimate what little depth they have. It’s difficult to see Pittsburgh outbidding the other suitors on this list. They absolutely have the need for Hellebuyck but aren’t well equipped to acquire him.”
The other teams Larkin mentioned as candidates include Carolina, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa, Toronto and Las Vegas.
Code Red
The Pirates didn’t make it look pretty while dispatching the lowly Oakland A’s on Monday night. But they eventually slithered away with a 5-4 win.
That victory coupled with a 2-0 Milwaukee Brewers loss to the Cincinnati Reds vaulted the Pirates back into first place at 32-27 atop the National League Central Division. Cincinnati’s big blows came from Tyler Stephenson and Stuart Fairchild. They both hit solo home runs to account for the only scoring of the game.
Ty Steve plays longball! @Tyler_Step22 pic.twitter.com/pO3NDKgZO3
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 6, 2023
Stuuuuuuuuuuu @stustuuu pic.twitter.com/gUEtaYr4R0
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 5, 2023
Cincy had lost four in a row and the first three games of the series to the Brewers. But the Reds got a sparkling major league debut from Andrew Abbott. He allowed just one hit over six innings pitched en route to victory.
The Brewers now sit a half game back of the Pirates for first place. The Reds are in third place 5½ back. Milwaukee hosts the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. Cincinnati welcomes the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Some of the Steelers’ AFC North rivals are making adjustments to their depth charts.
The Baltimore Ravens are adding another wide receiver. According to the NFL Network, it’s former first-round pick Laquon Treadwell.
The #Ravens are adding another receiver: They’ve agreed to terms with onetime #Vikings first-round pick Laquon Treadwell on a one-year deal, his agent Michael Portner said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 5, 2023
A seven-year NFL vet, Treadwell has played with four teams — the Vikings, Falcons, Jaguars and, most recently, the Seahawks. His career high in catches in a season is 35. His career high in yards is 434. He has five total touchdowns.
Other receiver additions to Baltimore include Odell Beckham Jr., Nelson Agholor and rookie Zay Flowers.
Also, the Cleveland Browns made some roster moves. Among the decisions, releasing former Steelers offensive lineman Joe Haeg.
The Browns have signed WR Ra’Shaun Henry and T Hunter Thedford. T Joe Haeg was released. https://t.co/DHhMlnomGs
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) June 5, 2023
Haeg played just one offensive snap last year for Cleveland. Following four years to begin his career with the Indianapolis Colts, Haeg played in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2021 with the Steelers, starting five games over those two seasons.
More sports
• Savvy vets Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb already forging close bond as Steelers’ new ILB duo
• Pirates GM: Top prospects Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez to split catching duties at Indianapolis
• Mark Madden: Riverhounds could be next Pittsburgh team to win a championship
Fond farewell
On Monday, the Steelers announced that John Norwig is retiring.
He had been the Steelers head trainer since 1991.
After 32 years with the #Steelers, head athletic trainer John Norwig has announced his retirement.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 5, 2023
“It’s pretty hard to sum it up in just a few words what John has meant to us for 32 years,” said team president Art Rooney II told Steelers.com. “He’s been a consummate professional. And just on a personal level, he’s had relationships with so many people. He handled himself the way you would hope everyone on the staff conducts himself. He’s as good as it gets in terms of somebody that comes and stays for 32 years and provides us with that level of professionalism. I think our medical staff has been the best in the NFL for a long time, and he’s part of the reason for that for sure. We’re going to miss him.”
Norwig is 65 and was working at Vanderbilt University before joining the Steelers.
“In 1977, I was a sophomore in college, I had an academic advisor at a branch campus of Penn State. I played basketball at Penn State-York. (Athletic training) was a new major at Penn State. He said based on your interests, you might want to look at this,” Norwig told the website. “I didn’t know much about it, but I came to find out it involved being in athletics. I enjoyed sports. I grew up around them. My father was a big sports fan. Also, the healthcare part of it was of interest to me. As I got more and more involved as a student, it became my passion.”
You can read Norwig’s farewell letter here.
Following the 49ers
As recently as May 31, it felt like the San Francisco 49ers were leaning toward Trey Lance as the most likely option to open the season as the starting quarterback at Acrisure Stadium against the Steelers. It was on that day that Jeff Darlington of ESPN reported that Lance was taking all the first-team reps while Brock Purdy was recovering from the UCL surgery in his throwing arm.
But maybe that’s just a placeholder situation. Because now the 49ers are sending out a lot of smoke signals about how healthy Purdy is.
That same day, San Francisco GM John Lynch addressed Purdy’s recovery on Sirius XM NFL Radio.
“He’s just had one (throwing) session thus far, but we’re incredibly encouraged by that,” Lynch said. “Brock’s a worker. If you give him a task, he’s going to do everything in his power. … As for the best-case scenario, we’re just going to take it as it comes. The hope is he’s ready for training camp. The hope is he’s ready for the regular season.”
NBC Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco had this post Monday: “Since the middle of March, there might have been equal odds of Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold taking the first snap of the 49ers’ season opener on Sept. 10 at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Now, based on the optimistic reports in recent weeks from Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan, Purdy is the clear favorite to open the season as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. … Realistically, if Purdy is ready to play football when the season rolls around, it will be his job.”
Maiocco also used a quote from that Sirius XM NFL Radio interview where Lynch used the phrase “leader in the clubhouse” to refer to Purdy’s status.
Last year it was exhausting enough keeping up with three Steelers quarterbacks competing for the opening day job right in front of our faces. Now we have to do it from 2,500 miles away?