First Call: Patrick Peterson won’t ask for No. 7 with Steelers; Mike Tomlin describes ‘darkest professional day’; Bengals lose DBs
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Tuesday’s “First Call” touches on a delicate situation for new Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Mike Tomlin opens up about the toughest moment of his Steelers coaching career. We have the latest developments surrounding Lamar Jackson’s contract situation in Baltimore. The Cincinnati Bengals may be weaker in the secondary next year.
And there are some headlines surrounding the Duquesne basketball team.
‘I’ll take a 7 & 7, please’
With cornerback Patrick Peterson set to become a Steeler, one question becomes what jersey number he will wear.
For the last two years of his high school career at Blanche Ely High (Pompano Beach, Fla.), through his college career at LSU and his past two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, the former All Pro cornerback wore No. 7.
That may be a problem given that Ben Roethlisberger wore that number throughout his legendary career with the Steelers. The franchise has only retired three numbers — Franco Harris’ 32, Joe Greene’s 75 and Ernie Stautner’s 70. But there are numerous numbers that are unofficially retired.
While Roethlisberger has only been away from the game for one year, the presumption is that No. 7 is going to stay off of anyone’s back for quite some time.
That said, Peterson claimed he’d love to have it, if the Steelers will let him wear it. Former Steeler Bryant McFadden asked Peterson about that notion on the “All Things Covered” podcast that the two host together.
“I would love to rock No. 7,” Peterson said on the podcast. “Seven has always been special to me.”
Peterson explained his affection for the number, claiming it started with his father’s high school career.
“My dad, he was No. 7, and he was a Blanche Ely High legend, as well,” Peterson explained. “You always want to follow (in) your dad’s footsteps. When I got to high school, all you hear about is, ‘Man, Pat Pete used to do this when he was in high school! He used to do that when he was in high school!’ I was like, ‘Man, when I get on varsity, I want to rock No. 7 and be just like Pops.’ That’s how seven grew on me.”
However, Peterson quickly got the impression that Steelers fans would prefer he choose a different number. So it appears that’s what he will do.
Dear @steelers Nation,
I get it. #7 Is not up for grabs. ????????
All Love,
P2
— Patrick Peterson /P2 (@P2) March 14, 2023
As with all things in life, I think we should leave it up to George Costanza to decide.
Tomlin’s ‘darkest day’ as a coach
Ben Roethlisberger’s “Footbahlin’” podcast continues to produce interesting content on a regular basis.
This week’s episode with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had many “must watch” moments. The most compelling of which was when Roethlisberger asked Tomlin to describe his perspective of the emotional moments surrounding Ryan Shazier’s career-ending spinal cord injury in Cincinnati during the 2017 season.
“It was probably the darkest professional day I’ve ever had,” Tomlin said. “There’s nothing worse as a coach.”
In retrospect, Tomlin said the hardest thing he has had to reconcile about those initial moments after Shazier was injured was the sense of calm he had because he was able to interact with Shazier so clearly at the time.
“When I got to him, he was so conscious in communicating that I was naive. I think a significant part of me said it’s gonna be OK,” Tomlin said. “Because he was Ryan. He’s like, ‘Oh, man, Coach, I can’t feel my legs. Oh my god.’ I’m like ‘Ryan, relax, man.’ And because he could articulate it, so well, it led you to believe (that) this is gonna be some temporary paralysis. … That just created, probably unrealistic, and probably inappropriate kind of comfort in me in the big picture of things. So even though I knew this is real — this is a major deal — I think part of me thought 10 minutes later, somebody’s going to tap me on the shoulder (and say), ‘Hey, he’s wiggling his leg. Yeah, he’s got feeling.’ So, it became scarier for me, the longer things went on and that did not happen.”
While Shazier was never able to resume his playing career, he has since recovered to the point that he could walk down the aisle and dance at his own wedding.
More sports
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• Pitt’s big challenge in NCAA First Four: Contain Mississippi State’s 6-11 Tolu Smith
• Bolstered by new faces, Penguins aim for improved penalty kill down stretch
Latest on Lamar
According to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, it sure sounds like the draft pick compensation is what’s holding back trade offers on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and maybe not the high contract asking price.
“There are teams interested in pursuing a potential Jackson trade if he decides he wants out of Baltimore,” Graziano said. “But I don’t know that you’ll see anyone submit a formal offer sheet that puts two first-round draft picks at risk if the Ravens don’t match. I think teams would rather talk to the Ravens about a more traditional trade, though of course they’d also at some point have to talk to Jackson because he’d have to sign the franchise tender before he could be traded.”
Jackson is currently under the NFL franchise tag for quarterbacks. That means if he and the Ravens can’t negotiate a contract extension, he’ll play on a one-year $32.4 million salary for 2023. If another team wants to sign him to an offer sheet with a long-term deal, the Ravens would have a chance to match it. If they don’t, the new team would have to yield two first-round draft choices.
According to Graziano, other NFL teams cannot send in offer sheets on Jackson until 4 p.m. Wednesday. This is because Jackson does not have an agent. As of noon Monday, teams can talk to the agents of prospective free agents but not to the players themselves. So anybody who wants to negotiate a deal with Jackson has to wait until Wednesday.
Bye-bye Bengals
One star player has left the AFC North. It’s Cincinnati safety Jesse Bates.
A second-team All-Pro in 2020, Bates signed a four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons worth $64.02 million with $36 million guaranteed. That’s according to NFL Network.
Bates averaged 95.6 tackles per season over his five years in Cincinnati. The 26-year-old had a career-high four interceptions in 16 starts last year while accumulating 71 tackles, eight passes defended and one forced fumble.
Via Fox Sports, Bates allowed a career-low 51.4% completion rate on the 37 targets he faced in coverage last season for the Bengals while giving up a 76.1 passer rating.
Fellow safety Vonn Bell also left Cincy for the Carolina Panthers. But the Bengals did retain one key component of their defense, though, signing linebacker Germain Pratt to a three-year $20.25 million contract.
Dambrot’s deal
Duquesne head basketball coach Keith Dambrot is 64 years old. He has coached 25 years of college basketball, the last six with Duquesne. But according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Dambrot isn’t leaving anytime soon.
Duquesne AD Dave Harper tells me that Keith Dambrot will coach for the "foreseeable future" as the Dukes aim to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.
Duquesne finished 20-11 this season.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 13, 2023
Dambrot took over the Dukes job in 2017, signing a seven-year contract. So he has one season remaining.
In other news from the Bluff, “The Portal Report” says that Winthrop transfer Toneari Lane is getting interest from Duquesne.
Winthrop transfer Toneari Lane tells TPR that he has received interest from:
ECU
Duquesne
Murray State
Chattanooga
Georgia State
UNCG pic.twitter.com/faxTae5Du3— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) March 13, 2023
Lane is 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. The sophomore guard averaged 10.3 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Eagles. He shot 41.8% from the field and 38.1% from three-point distance. Lane scored nine points in 25 minutes during a 74-57 loss at Duquesne in December.