Hunker down for refreshing sports notes! But they’re mostly Cam Heyward contract dispute notes, which makes them not so refreshing. Because we endured this less than a year ago.
• With first-round pick Derrick Harmon and fifth-round selection Yahya Black bolstering the defensive line, could the Steelers get by without Heyward during the early (weaker) part of their schedule? Heyward would be fresher and better if he skipped several games, then returned.
• At 36, what is Heyward more likely to do: Make All-Pro again or hit a wall?
• The deciding factor that makes Heyward the villain in this battle is that he got a $13.45 roster bonus in March. That gives Heyward leverage because his game checks will be under $80K. He can afford to miss games. But Heyward is withholding work already paid for, which is dishonest. Try doing that at your job and see what happens.
• Heyward won’t miss games. He doesn’t have the guts to turn heel 100%. Anyway, the Steelers will throw Heyward a bone.
• Heyward claims the Steelers “giggled” when he said he’d make All-Pro before last season. That just didn’t happen. There’s no way a member of the Steelers organization laughed at Heyward when he forecasted future excellence. Utter fabrication by way of exacerbating martyrdom.
• You hear Heyward’s community service cited in justifying his quest for more money. He was Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2023. “Cam’s a good guy. Pay him.” But that’s not relevant. I don’t care at all. After eight years without a playoff win, I’d rather have a sociopath that propels the Steelers to postseason success than a social worker who’s 1-8 in playoff games.
• Chris Boswell’s hold-in is largely being ignored. No matter how good the kicker is, nobody cares. Better call Sauls!
• If Heyward is still holding in when the final roster cutdown arrives, is it harder or easier for the Steelers to release his brother Connor? He’s the fourth tight end, good on special teams but definitely on the bubble. Releasing Connor after three seasons with the team looks like a cheap shot. Keeping him seems like currying favor. Perhaps the Steelers could ax Connor and give his salary to Cam.
• I’m shocked the Steelers haven’t acquired wide receiver Allen Lazard, Aaron Rodgers’ buddy with Green Bay and the New York Jets. They played the last seven years together. But that’s good. Rodgers should be the quarterback, not the GM. Maybe lessons got learned. That said, Lazard would be the No. 2 wideout.
• The big story of the preseason should be the progress (or lack thereof) of offensive tackles Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, who both looked OK in the exhibition win at Jacksonville. But such talk is on the backburner because discussing Cam Heyward makes us mad, and being angry is America’s national pastime.
• The Athletic’s Mike Sando has a tiered ratings system for NFL quarterbacks compiled by surveying NFL executives, coaches and scouts. Kenny Pickett sits alone in Tier 5, the bottom rung, rated dead last among NFL starters. “Best suited as a backup.” And now Pickett probably won’t start in Cleveland.
• The Associated Press’ all-time All-America team lost credibility when it excluded Pitt running back Tony Dorsett from its first unit. Dorsett was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1976 and the best college football player of all time. He elevated Pitt to heights it will never reach again. If you saw Dorsett play, you know.
• Bryan Reynolds is hitting .367 in August with the Pirates’ season long since dead. He hit .235 in March and April. Reynolds historically heats up later in the year when it doesn’t matter. Reynolds is making $12.25 million. Bad teams can’t afford to have their highest-paid (and presumably best) players come up lame when they still have a theoretical chance to compete. (Mitch Keller does the opposite: Start good, get bad.)
• Oneil Cruz is on pace to strike out exactly 199 times. If he dodges that 200th whiff, is that a moral victory? What is Cruz’s bat speed when he strikes out swinging?
• The Pirates lost three straight at Milwaukee by a cumulative score of 33-6. Milwaukee will make the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. The Pirates occupy last place in the NL Central and haven’t qualified for the postseason since 2015. Milwaukee is MLB’s smallest market. The main difference between the franchises is that Milwaukee makes winning an organizational priority. The Pirates don’t.
• Andrew McCutchen is 38 but his legs are much older. He hit into a 5-4-3 double play in Milwaukee that could have gone 5-7-8-4-2-3. He runs like his ankles are chained together. He should retire. Being a mascot is unbecoming for a player of his accomplishment.
• Endy Rodriguez is out for the season. Again. It doesn’t matter why. Ditch this brittle bozo.
• I heard talk on the Pirates’ flagship radio station that mooted the idea of signing big-name free agents like Pete Alonso or Bo Bichette, as well as the usual fantasy about keeping Paul Skenes long-term. It’s like the Syfy channel.
• The Penguins need to trade Rickard Rakell and/or Bryan Rust. Their forward group is a bit too good. Maybe a cataclysmically bad defense corps can remedy that, with goaltender Tristan Jarry being the ace in the hole. The Penguins’ No. 1 priority for the upcoming season is finishing low enough to get a top five draft pick. Unequivocally.
