Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to meet next week to discuss the veteran quarterback’s contract.
Roethlisberger is set to count for $41.25 million against the salary cap next season. Pittsburgh has said they cannot have Roethlisberger back at that amount. The quarterback has also said he wants to rework things to help the team.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the two sides will meet next week to restructure Roethlisberger’s contract. Big Ben has a $15 million roster bonus that the sides could convert into a signing bonus that is spread out over future years. That would give the Steelers cap relief for 2021 but count against the cap in future years.
Roethlisberger turns 39 next month and has long contemplated retirement, but he plans to return in 2021. One reporter even threw out the possibility that the veteran quarterback could play beyond next season.
Roethlisberger passed for 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season despite coming off a significant arm injury.
The New Orleans Saints are facing discipline from the NFL for possible COVID-19 protocol violations surrounding the Alvin Kamara case.
Kamara tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the team’s Week 17 finale against Carolina and missed the game. His availability for their Wild Card playoff game was also in question, though a favorable schedule helped make him available.
According to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, Kamara had an interaction with a non-team employee at the Saints’ facility. The incident was captured on video, and that is what the league is reviewing as it considers discipline.
The Saints have already been disciplined twice by the NFL over COVID protocol violations. They were fined after head coach Sean Payton did not properly wear a mask in Week 2. The team also got fined and stripped of a 7th-round pick for maskless locker room celebrations.
Allen Iverson was a very polarizing figure during his NBA career, much like Kyrie Irving is now. Still, many disagreed with Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash’s recent comments about the two stars.
Nash received a question this week about Iverson as a potential player comparison for Irving.
“I think Allen was special in his own right,” replied Nash, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I think Kyrie is more skilled. I think Allen was different. Allen was electrifying in a different way. He got to the line a lot. Allen was a crazy competitor.
“The variety of shot making coupled with the accuracy Kyrie has is historic,” Nash went on. “Allen is Allen. He’s one of the all-time greats. Kyrie, if you look at what he’s able to do on the court is historic too in the skill level and way he’s able to get his.”
The reaction to Nash’s comments was largely negative, specifically the part where he stated that Irving is more skilled than Iverson was.
Irving may have better efficiency than Iverson. He is also a marquee ball-handler and three-level scorer. But he is not quite the one-man wrecking crew that Iverson was. Iverson did more with less, including leading a middling supporting cast to the NBA Finals in a much more physical era where hand-checking was allowed and far less emphasis was placed on the three-point shot. Iverson has ascended to almost mythical status since his retirement as well. He is now widely revered as one of the most passionate and overall best pound-for-pound players of all-time.
That much probably is not lost on Nash, who was Iverson’s contemporary. But Irving is a player who is mostly disliked at the moment. Thus, Nash’s comments were never going to go over well in the eyes of fans.
Longtime NFL wide receiver Steve Smith was known for his personality. He also never forgets a slight, as he reminded everyone this week.
Smith appeared on Wednesday’s edition of “The Rich Eisen Show,” where he told the host about his beef with new Houston Texans coach David Culley. The real shocker is that Smith has been holding this resentment for 19 years, all based on one incident at the Pro Bowl.
As Smith told it, he was selected as the NFC’s kick returner as a rookie at the 2002 Pro Bowl. John Harbaugh, at the time the special teams coach for the Eagles staff that was coaching the NFC, suggested that Smith go over and join the NFC’s wide receivers, who were down a man.
“Get over there and Culley says, ‘Hey, we’re about to meet and go ahead and go back with the special teams.’ I said, ‘Well, the special teams coach, Coach Harbaugh told me to come over here,'” Smith recalled, via Mark Lane of Yahoo Sports. “‘Well, these are wide receivers.’ That’s what he said. And I walked back over there and he told me.
“So, after that, that just kind of tells me — so, the reason I say that is to this day Coach Culley will say, like you say ‘still holding that grudge,’ it’s not holding a grudge. It’s the fact I was a Pro Bowler. I was also — you were down a wide receiver, and the fact of the matter is you scooted me along because you didn’t believe I was a real wide receiver. So, that tells me your eye for athleticism and talent is as good as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder’s eyes.”
In reality, one moment 19 years ago at a Pro Bowl tells us very little about Culley’s coaching acumen. That said, this is Steve Smith we’re talking about. The guy does not forget criticism, real or perceived.
There are definitely reasons to be skeptical of the Texans’ decision to hire Culley as head coach. This anecdote is not one of them, but it’s very on-brand for Smith.
A child seriously injured in a car crash involving Chiefs linebackers coach Britt Reid remains in critical condition Saturday.
The Kansas City Police Department stated that the child’s condition remains critical, but offered no further details, citing an ongoing investigation into the accident.
Britt Reid, the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, struck two vehicles on an entrance ramp Thursday, injuring two children. One of the children was said to have life-threatening injuries. Reid showed “signs of impairment” at the scene of the crash, according to police.
The Chiefs have already announced that Britt Reid would not travel to Tampa for Super Bowl LV in light of the crash, while Andy Reid will coach the game as he normally would.
Don’t count on Bruce Arians delivering some big motivational speech to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of Super Bowl LV.
Arians said Saturday he planned a brief chat with his players on Saturday night ahead of the game, but won’t be giving a big, dramatic address. He also doesn’t really get why anyone would need one.
“No, like I told them, if you need a speech to get fired up to play football, you’re in the wrong game,” Arians said, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk. “I have to laugh when people bring in speakers and stuff. I don’t know the message they’re going to bring. There’s only one voice in this one.”
Honestly, Arians is probably right. Sports movies love to depict that big, dramatic moment when a coach inspires his team to come roaring out of the locker room to seize the championship. The reality is quite different. Plus, can you imagine Arians, about to coach in his first Super Bowl as a head coach, trying to hype up six-time champion Tom Brady?
Arians has taken a relaxed but blunt approach when it comes to keeping his team focused and loose. So far, it certainly seems to be working.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have teamed up yet again! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
Joel Embiid has always had strong Twitter fingers, so you know that he is not going to let any slander about his teammates slide.
The Philadelphia 76ers star tweeted his All-Star vote this week for frontcourt partner Ben Simmons. After a fan expressed skepticism over Simmons’ low scoring total, Embiid fired back. The seven-footer said that Simmons’ impact on the No. 1-seeded Sixers went far beyond the box score.
True, Simmons is averaging a career-low 13.4 points per game this season. But he has actually become fairly underrated as critics focus far more on his weaknesses (lack of a jumper and poor shooting percentages) than on his strengths (elite positional defense, rebounding, and playmaking). Simmons plays his role for the Sixers very well and is willing to take a backseat in the scoring department to teammates like Embiid and Tobias Harris.
Embiid also spoke recently about his renewed chemistry with Simmons, and in Embiid’s mind, there is no doubt Simmons is an All-Star this year.
A Carson Wentz trade now looks inevitable, with the Philadelphia Eagles reportedly moving toward dealing their quarterback.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the Eagles are expected to trade Wentz in the coming days, with a deal possibly coming as soon as this week. The Eagles want a “Matthew Stafford package” in exchange for the quarterback, which would presumably entail multiple first-round picks.
The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts have been most heavily linked to Wentz, though other teams have at least explored the Eagles quarterback’s market. There is a belief around the league that a Wentz trade could set the market for other quarterbacks who may be traded, including Sam Darnold of the New York Jets.
Word is that the Eagles have received some pretty good offers for Wentz. The 28-year-old clearly still has believers around the league, and that makes sense — he’s a former Pro Bowler who has put up big numbers and won games within the last couple seasons.
Tony Romo has won plaudits from NFL fans for his ability to decipher playcalls and predict plays before the ball is snapped. Jay Gruden, however, isn’t terribly impressed.
The former Washington Football Team coach is unemployed after a one year stint as offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and is considering options for staying in the game. One thing he’s eyeing is a media career, and he thinks he could out-predict Romo any day.
Gruden told Ben Standig of The Athletic that Romo wasn’t actually right that often, and when he is, it’s usually because it was obvious.
“I could do it every time,” Gruden said. “He’s only right like 30 percent of the time. Those are usually pretty obvious, I mean (laughs). Nobody talks about the times when he’s wrong, but when he’s right, holy cow, he’s a genius. Oh, come on, man. Sure, it’s a run. Nope, it’s a pass. Sorry, I was wrong.”
If Gruden is as good as he thinks he’d be, he should probably get a TV gig, because he’d make a lot of money doing it. After all, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback is making big money at CBS.
Gruden has been quite candid lately about his experiences within the game. If he’s willing to share those stories, he could be an intriguing commentator, even if his predictions don’t turn out as perfect as he thinks they would.
The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics made a rare intra-division trade on Saturday involving two big names.
The Athletics acquired a package headlined by shortstop Elvis Andrus from Texas, solving the team’s shortstop issue. In return, the Rangers got slugger Khris Davis, as well as a pair of prospects.
Andrus is arguably the biggest name in the deal. The 32-year-old veteran shortstop struggled in 2020, but hit .275 with 12 home runs over his last full season in 2019.
Davis, however, might make the biggest impact. The 33-year-old had three consecutive 40-homer seasons from 2016 through 2018, and will be moving from a big park in Oakland to what will be a more hitter-friendly one in Texas.
The A’s needed a shortstop to replace Marcus Semien, so this is a deal that makes sense for them. That said, this ad from a couple years ago didn’t age well in retrospect.
