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

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

Tim Benz
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
Bucs receiver Mike Evans beats the Steelers’ Tykee Smith for a touchdown Thursday at Acrisure Stadium.

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.

Apparently, that goes for receiver Mike Evans as well.

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.

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.

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

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns
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