First Call: Aaron Rodgers says contract isn't signed yet; Phil Kessel's unique way to keep his consecutive games streak alive

Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers are out of the picture, the Aaron Rodgers saga isn’t officially wrapped up yet in Green Bay.

A former Penn State Nittany Lion is getting a second straight franchise tag. There was a ton of NHL action in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday aside from the Penguins-Panthers game. The grind of this year’s local college basketball campaign looks to get a late spark in tournament play.

And ex-Penguin Phil Kessel kept his consecutive game streak going in Detroit on Tuesday. He did so in a very interesting way.

Still some dispute

To whatever extent you believed the Steelers were in on the bidding to get Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he has announced that he’ll be playing in Green Bay once again next season.

However, Rodgers is disputing reports that he actually has signed a new contract.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport claimed that the quarterback has agreed to a four-year, $200 million contract to remain in Green Bay.

The #Packers and MVP QB Aaron Rodgers have agreed to terms on a 4-year, $200M deal that makes him the highest paid player in NFL history, sources say. He gets a whopping $153M guaranteed and his cap number goes down. A monstrous commitment by GB for years to come.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2022

Rodgers said it’s true that he will be continuing his career in Green Bay. However, he disputes the terms and the physical act of putting pen to paper.

Hey everyone, just wanted to clear some things up; YES I will be playing with the @packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I “signed”. I’m very excited to be back #year18️

— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) March 8, 2022

Maybe Rodgers and his camp just want to keep some sort of speculation alive for a little while longer now that his destination is known. He seems to like that sort of thing.

Nittany Lions news

Penn State product Chris Godwin has a franchise tag for a second straight year.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver was tagged a season ago. He was hoping to get a deal done with his current team before the tag deadline, but his agents and the Bucs could not reach a satisfactory contract.

So, for now, Godwin is slated to make $19.1 million on the tag in 2022. Negotiations can remain open until July 15.

Godwin had 1,103 yards on a career-high 98 catches in 2021. The Bucs have already lost Antonio Brown from last year’s receivers room after he was dismissed for his shirtless temper tantrum in Week 17. Also on offense, quarterback Tom Brady retired and tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Leonard Fournette and center Ryan Jensen are free agents.

The only receiver with a higher cap hit than that in 2021 was Dallas’ Amari Cooper at $20 million.

Related:

• Dolphins place franchise tag on former Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki
• Penguins' secondary scoring falters in loss to Panthers

Kessel’s kid

Former Penguins winger Phil Kessel extended his consecutive game streak Tuesday in a very unique way.

Now with the Arizona Coyotes, Kessel skated one shift in Detroit against the Red Wings, then left the game so he could board a plane to attend the birth of his first child.

Before ARIZ scored to go ahead 1-0 on DET...Phil Kessel played first shift and received fist-pumps from teammates. He extends consecutive games streak, and will head home for birth of first child.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 9, 2022

That’s 956 games in a row for the two-time Stanley Cup Champion. The Coyotes went onto slaughter the Red Wings 9-2.

Kessel’s streak is the second longest among current players. Former Arizona — and current Philadelphia Flyers — defenseman Keith Yandle broke the NHL’s record for consecutive games played on Jan. 24 by reaching 964.

Ripple effect

Beyond the Penguins’ 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, there were plenty of other impactful results atop the Eastern Conference.

The Toronto Maple Leafs outgunned the Seattle Kraken 6-4 behind a hat trick from Auston Matthews. The New York Rangers visited the Minnesota Wild and lost 5-2. The Tampa Bay Lightning went to Winnipeg and were 7-4 losers against the Jets.

Also, the Washington Capitals won a late game in Calgary, 5-4 against the Flames. With two goals, Caps star Alex Ovechkin tied Jaromir Jagr for third in NHL history with 766. Ovechkin scored once in the second period, and again in to an empty net in the third period. The 36-year-old trails only Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in NHL history.

Alexander Ovechkin with the empty-netter to tie Jaromir Jagr for third-most goals in @NHL history. 7⃣6⃣6⃣ pic.twitter.com/oe9O7L39DT

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 9, 2022

So that means, heading into play Wednesday night, Florida and the Carolina Hurricanes are tied atop the Eastern Conference with 83 points apiece. Having both suffered regulation losses Tuesday, the Penguins and Rangers remain tied in second place of the Metropolitan division, six points behind the Canes with 77 each. The Caps are also currently in a wild card spot with 71 points.

The Lightning drop to three points back of Florida with 80 points, good for second place in the Atlantic, two points in front of the third place Maple Leafs.

Beyond the script

The local college basketball scene moves along following Pitt’s one-and-done elimination from the ACC Tournament. The Panthers were 66-46 losers against Boston College in Brooklyn.

Duquesne, West Virginia and Penn State are all in action in their respective conference tournaments Wednesday.

The Dukes tip at 3:30 p.m. against Rhode Island in the opener of the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Washington D.C. After winning their first A-10 game of the season at Massachusetts, the Dukes suffered 16 straight conference defeats to close out 2021-22. That included a 70-54 loss against the Rams on Feb. 26.

West Virginia plays Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament at 7 p.m. The Mountaineers split their two regular season games against the Wildcats this season. Bob Huggins’ team won its regular season finale 70-64 over TCU after seven straight defeats to finish the year at 15-16.

At 8:30 p.m., Penn State (12-16) squares off against Minnesota (13-16). The Golden Gophers won the first matchup between the clubs 76-70 on Feb. 12. But the Nittany Lions won the rematch 67-46 in the rematch five days later.