First Call: Broderick Jones expected back at practice; more interest in David Bednar; Ben Cherington 'in limbo'

Wednesday’s “First Call” has an update on Broderick Jones’ practice status. Trey Hendrickson will report to training camp in Cincinnati. The other two AFC North teams have seen significant players go down with injuries at their camps.

And we have more speculation about the futures of David Bednar, Mitch Keller and Ben Cherington.

Broderick may be back

Steelers tackle Broderick Jones is expected back at training camp practice Wednesday. That’s according to head coach Mike Tomlin.

Jones was unable to participate in the team’s most recent full practice Sunday. Over the weekend, he was dealing with a soft tissue injury of some sort. Dylan Cook filled in at left tackle. It didn’t appear as if Jones would’ve participated if the Steelers could’ve gotten a full practice completed Tuesday.

That point was rendered moot by the weather, though, which has interfered with at least three Steelers practices so far at Saint Vincent College.

As for Isaac Seumalo, he’s also dealing with a soft tissue injury and is on the NFI (non-football injury) list. He has been there since the start of training camp last week. Tomlin said of him, “I don’t (have an update). You can still characterize it as day to day.”

Spencer Anderson has been filling in at guard with Seumalo out.

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Injuries abound

The Steelers aren’t the only AFC North team dealing with training camp injuries. In Baltimore, Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely rolled his ankle and foot. He is now expected to miss a significant chunk of time.

“It’ll be a few weeks,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s good that it’s just early in camp.”

Harbaugh said after practice that the 25-year-old will have an MRI on Wednesday. Likely posted career highs in his third season, finishing 2024 with 42 receptions for 477 yards and six touchdowns.

Here is John Harbaugh post camp today on TE Isaiah Likely's ankle injury. Happened on his final rep and was carted off.

MRI tomorrow. He's going to miss a few weeks of camp. pic.twitter.com/bAUdMT8qhi

— Morgan Adsit (@MorganAdsit) July 29, 2025

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, starting cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. appears to have suffered a torn Achilles, according to Cleveland.com. If that’s the case, it would be a season-ending injury.

The outlet says Emerson was carted off the field in tears during Tuesday’s practice.

The rest can wait

Cincinnati’s star pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, is expected at training camp Wednesday. Last year’s NFL sack leader had been holding out in hopes of getting a new contract, but that hasn’t happened.

Hendrickson had missed the first five practices of training camp. He was getting fined $50,000 per absence. ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted the news Tuesday evening.

ESPN sources: Trey Hendrickson is planning to report to Bengals camp Wednesday, ending his holdout without being any closer to a new deal, per sources. Reporting to camp stops the $50,000 per day fines and also serves as a good-faith gesture to try to jumpstart negotiations.

The… pic.twitter.com/qxToasKHtM

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 29, 2025

However, according to the Associated Press, once Hendrickson gets back to Cincinnati, he is not expected to practice. Instead, he’ll likely be staging a T.J. Watt-style “hold-in,” attending meetings, but not participating in full-on-field team activities until a new deal is reached.

The All-Pro pass rusher has been working out in Jacksonville, Fla. He wants a long-term contract extension with guaranteed money in the neighborhood of what Watt, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby are making. That’d be between $36 million-$41 million per year.

The 30-year-old is currently on the books for $15.8 million in base salary this season and has a cap number of $18.7 million.

Texas-sized decision

We’ve heard that Detroit has an interest in Pirates reliever David Bednar. Now another club is in the mix, according to Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic.

“The Rangers want to add another right-handed hitter as well as a high-leverage reliever, such as the St. Louis Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley or Pittsburgh Pirates’ David Bednar,” Rosenthal wrote Tuesday.

Rosenthal added that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington remains “in limbo” with his job status at this point.

“The question is how owner Bob Nutting will evaluate Cherington’s performance at the deadline and beyond. If Nutting judges Cherington partly on how the Pirates finish, a sell-off involving Bednar, Mitch Keller and others likely would make the team even less competitive, damaging the GM’s standing,” Rosenthal said. “But if Cherington takes a passive approach, declining to leverage his ample supply of pitchers to acquire impact hitters, Nutting could fire him for a different reason — failing to put the team in a better position for 2026.”

Rosenthal then went on to mention how Neal Huntington held onto a fair amount of players in 2019, and was eventually fired after the season. You can also hear what Rosenthal had to say about Keller’s trade status below.

Pirates GM Ben Cherington practically has to trade David Bednar and Mitch Keller, says @Ken_Rosenthal.

"You can envision a world if you were spending money, perhaps you build around those guys, but I just don't see that world existing." pic.twitter.com/A1JqArkMgW

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 29, 2025

Keller has frequently been linked to the Cubs, Red Sox and Blue Jays among other teams.

Listen: Tim Benz discusses George Pickens’ comments about leaving the Steelers for Dallas in Tuesday’s “Letters From Camp” podcast