First Call: Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans stand out in Buccaneers' joint practice vs. Steelers, will sit for game

Friday’s “First Call” has an update on the Tampa Bay depth chart in advance of the Buccaneers’ visit Saturday to Acrisure Stadium to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in a preseason game.

Also, assistant general manager Andy Weidl talks about next year’s quarterback draft class. We preview the Pirates’ trip to Chicago.

And a former Steelers cornerback has a new home.

No need

If the 2025 Steelers defense is going to be “historic” and “one of the best of all time,” it needs to be good enough to stop Baker Mayfield in a practice.

That didn’t happen frequently enough on Thursday. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Mayfield ran the Buccaneers offense well enough in the team’s joint practice with the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium that head coach Todd Bowles doesn’t feel the need to play him Saturday night when teams square off for a preseason game.

After reviewing the tape of today's practice, Todd Bowles just told me he believes Baker Mayfield played so well today in the joint workout with the Steelers he will NOT play in Saturday night's game.

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 15, 2025

Apparently, that goes for receiver Mike Evans as well.

Bucs WR Mike Evans couldn't be covered during practice Thursday and won most of his battles with Steelers CB Jalen Ramsey. Todd Bowles has seen enough and won't play him Sat.

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 14, 2025

As for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin stated before the joint practice that most of the veterans who didn’t play in Jacksonville also won’t play against the Bucs.

Heading down south

A former Steelers defensive back is moving to the NFC South. C.J. Henderson is going to the Atlanta Falcons, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

This is Henderson’s second trip with the division. He once played for the Carolina Panthers as well.

Free agent CB CJ Henderson, the former #Jaguars first-rounder, is planning to sign with the #Falcons, source said, pending his medical review.

After Pittsburgh last year and the #Panthers before that, Henderson gets another shot in 2025. He picked ATL over several suitors. pic.twitter.com/uxvLULDSbm

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 14, 2025

The 26-year-old cornerback was signed to the Pittsburgh practice squad on Sept. 25 after a tryout. The Florida Gator alum was elevated to the active roster before the club’s game against the New York Giants in Week 8, but never dressed.

Henderson entered the NFL with Jacksonville as the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after being first-team All-SEC.

Looking ahead

Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl spoke with media members Thursday before the joint practice. He was asked about next year’s potential quarterback class in the 2026 NFL Draft.

“There are some guys who are really talented coming out. There are guys who can win from the pocket, guys that can win from the pocket and win on the run,” Weidl said. “Whether they all come out, we’ll find out. We’ll do our work. We do every year.”

Many Steelers fans are expecting the organization to draft its next franchise quarterback this spring when the draft is in Pittsburgh.

“We have a great group of scouts. That continuity from last year (to) this year, we’ve had the same group together. We’re expecting big things,” Weidl said. “We talked about it. It’s a great opportunity for our staff to have all these picks and see how the year plays out.”

As of now, the Steelers have 12 draft picks at their disposal for 2026. Many Steelers fans are anticipating that Weidl and Omar Khan will use some of those picks to move up in the first-round board if necessary to get the best possible QB.

More sports

• After shaky debut, Steelers rookie RB Kaleb Johnson vows to be better in 2nd preseason game
• 'Everybody Loves You Now': Mason Rudolph returns to Acrisure Stadium for the 1st time since his 2023 heroics
• Pitt gets 3 players on All-Time All-America team after 100 years

Blowing into the Windy City

After getting swept in Milwaukee, the Pirates try to get back on track against the Chicago Cubs.

Good luck with that. The Brewers lead the National League Central at 76-44. But the Cubs are in second place at 68-52. They hold the top wild card spot over the Los Angeles Dodgers by half a game, and are eight back of the Brewers in the division race.

Chicago is slumping of late, though. They’ve dropped three of four, scoring just eight runs over those four games. On Thursday in Toronto, Chicago got a solo homer from Michael Busch in the sixth inning, and that was it for the day as they lost 2-1.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. homered in the seventh to win the game for the Blue Jays.

SECOND ???? HALF ???? HEATER ???? #PLAKATA pic.twitter.com/H5aTrY6jFM

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 14, 2025

The Cubs have won five of the seven games against Pittsburgh this year, outscoring them 29-14.