First Call: 49ers sign ex-Steeler in advance of opener; Antonio Brown in trouble yet again

The San Francisco 49ers don’t have Nick Bosa in the fold yet, but they do have a pretty good resource for information on the Steelers.

Antonio Brown is in hot water again, and the Steelers may be on their way to tackling the NFL’s next marketing genius.

All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.”

Talking up the talking points

If there is a party line to be held in San Francisco about Nick Bosa, it’s being held with a collective death grip.

On Monday, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said there was no news for him to share about the star pass rusher’s holdout, and he seemed dismissive of any concern about his status.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed a similar tone on Tuesday.

“It’s going pretty much exactly how I expected it to go,” Shanahan said, according to quotes from 49erswebzone.com. “It’s kind of just been exactly what I thought.”

The length of the holdout doesn’t seem to phase Shanahan either. “Yeah, I had a feeling it would (take this long),” he said.

As for when the 49ers and Bosa might reach a new deal, Shanahan said, “Hopefully sooner (rather) than later.”

The Steelers play San Francisco in Week 1 of the regular season at Acrisure Stadium. Niners general manager John Lynch had previously stated that he expected Bosa to need three weeks of ramp-up.

That game is now 19 days away.

Miller time

Whenever an NFL team has a roster hole to fill and that team signs a castoff player from the opponent they are about to face, the coach of the team that signs that player always says it’s coincidental.

No attempt at espionage. No hope to mine for information or glean any pearls of wisdom.

But, boy, that coincidence sure does happen a lot, doesn’t it?

The 49ers, who (as mentioned) play at Acrisure Stadium Week 1, just signed ex-Steeler Anthony Miller.

While the veteran wide receiver only played in one game for the franchise, he was in Pittsburgh from Oct. 21, 2021, until June of this year. So he knows the offense.

But, again, just a coincidence … right?

Miller has appeared in 50 NFL games with 18 starts. He racked up 139 receptions for 1,587 yards and 12 touchdowns during his time with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans before putting on the Black and Gold.

Stop me if you have heard this before

Former Steeler Antonio Brown is in trouble again.

I should just keep that line in my cut-and-paste clipboard.

This time he is facing an accusation of non-payment of child support and is facing an order of arrest.

I should have that line ready to go at all times too.

According to TMZ.com, Miami-Dade County court documents indicate that Brown apparently missed a $15,000 child support payment to Wiltrice Jackson. The website reports that Brown can have the order purged if he pays up, plus an additional $5,000 in attorney fees.

It’s the second time this year a judge has ordered law enforcement to arrest A.B. over unpaid child support. An order was also issued after Brown failed to make a $30,000 payment to Jackson in April.

In 2019, Jackson also accused Brown of shoving her during a domestic dispute. But Brown was never charged.

TMZ received no comment after seeking a quote from Brown’s representation.

Bijan’s dijon

We don’t know if Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is going to play against the Steelers Thursday night. Neither he nor head coach Arthur Smith have made a commitment one way or another in that regard.

“I feel good. Coach Smith has a plan for who he plays and what he wants to do for the players. But, you know, the time that I got (Friday), I just enjoyed it. I’m ready to go whenever I go again,” Bijan said.

We’ll see if that happens Thursday. He had 20 yards on four carries Friday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Now the NFL Rookie of the Year favorite (+300) has his own commercial.

And guess what it’s for — mustard. Yup. I’m surprised it even took this long. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to “Bijan Mustardson.”

Bijan Robinson's Commercial for his Mustard brand 'Bijan Mustardson' #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/APqro2VLD5

— ً. (@InBijanWeTrust) August 21, 2023

Bijan’s Dijon on a hot dog sounds pretty good right now. For the Falcons’ sake, they better just hope that second-year starter Desmond Ridder throws a spiral with a football as well as that QB in the commercial throws a hot dog.

Oh, by the way, Robinson isn’t done there. He is also now part owner of a professional pickleball team — the Austin Ranchers. He is one of 40 people to buy into the team. Others include Penn State product and Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, Texas A&M alum and Cleveland Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett, Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud and pro golfer Scottie Scheffler.

Bijan Robinson: Big pickleball guy? pic.twitter.com/02LaSQykdn

— Kelly Price (@thekellyprice) August 22, 2023

“There’s a lot of people that are starting to own pickleball teams like Drake, like LeBron,” Robinson said via the team’s website. “So, I (said), ‘I want to get into it.”

Personally, I think mustard and pickles are a tremendous combination. If Robinson gets the right Texas barbecue vendor on board at the pickleball matches, he could sell Cuban sandwiches for $30 a pop.