Pittsburgh Steelers running back Cordarrelle Patterson is pumping the well again when it comes to fishing for help at the wide receiver position.
A former Super Bowl winning coach isn’t convinced that going to Russell Wilson is the right move for the Steelers.
We have updates on a pair of former Steelers who have new teams. And there are some ties to Penguins’ history with the latest milestones hit by Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
All that and more in Thursday’s “First Call.”
If at first you don’t succeed?
Steelers running back Cordarrelle Patterson tried to recruit Davante Adams to Pittsburgh through a trade-and-sign deal when it became clear the wide receiver wanted to leave the Las Vegas Raiders a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately for Patterson and the Steelers, that didn’t happen. Instead, Adams wound up with the New York Jets; he’ll likely play against the Steelers on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.
Now Patterson is trying to force into existence a trade for a different pass catcher. He sent a social media message to Jets receiver Mike Williams. Since Adams is coming on board with the Jets, Williams may be bumped down the ladder when it comes to targets from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the Steelers may be able to pick him up via trade.
Prior to Adams’ arrival, Williams had been in the role of third receiver behind Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. Williams had only 10 catches over the first six games, for an average of 24.2 yards per contest.
The Steelers expressed an interest in acquiring Williams as a free agent this offseason. However, the 30-year-old signed a one-year, $10 million deal in New York instead.
Making the move
Former Patriots coach turned NFL commentator Bill Belichick is wondering if Mike Tomlin is making the right move by going to Russell Wilson at quarterback.
“You go with that quarterback when you’re sure that he’s going to upgrade your team. If you’re not sure, you probably stay with where you’re at,” Belichick said on a recent edition of “The Coach’s Podcast.”
Belichick may not be sure. But apparently Tomlin is, hence pulling Justin Fields with a 4-2 record. It’s the rust factor with Wilson that seems to be concerning Belichick.
“Russell’s a veteran quarterback and that guy knows how to play,” Belichick said. “But he just hasn’t had the timing and the live snaps because he certainly didn’t get them in preseason. So it’s a tough task to (go) in there at this point in the season with really no reps.”
The last time Wilson played in a regular season game was Week 16 of last year.
