First Call: ESPN projects T.J. Watt's playing status; ex-MLB GM rips Pirates 'eye wash' free-agent offers

Friday’s “First Call” paints a bleak picture when it comes to T.J. Watt’s playing status for Monday night.

A former MLB general manager is mocking the Pirates’ alleged contract offers to some significant free agents.

The Penguins need to salvage their homestand against some teams from the Western Conference this weekend. And all three Pittsburgh-area men’s college basketball teams are in action Saturday.

Watching Watt

Steelers fans are awaiting more details from the team about the health of linebacker T.J. Watt. He was hospitalized because of a lung ailment Wednesday.

Thursday after practice, Mike Tomlin said that Watt’s status for Monday night’s game at Acrisure Stadium is “up in the air.”

An “NFL Live” report on ESPN from Adam Schefter sounded more dubious than that. He claimed that “it doesn’t look like T.J. Watt would be able to make it back this week to play on Monday night,” and it would “seem to be a surprise” if Watt suited up for Pittsburgh against the Miami Dolphins.

Schefter characterized Watt as suffering a lung “injury” while undergoing treatment at the team facility Wednesday. He went so far as to add, “It’s fair to assume, but don’t know, that his lung got at least semi-punctured.”

I actually don’t think it is “fair to assume” that, unless Schefter has been told those specific details but didn’t want to expose a source. And I don’t know what “semi-punctured” means when talking about a lung. No one from the team has gone to that extent to characterize the nature of Watt’s hospitalization.

If Watt can’t play, that’ll mean much more playing time for Nick Herbig. He only got 33% of the snaps against Baltimore last week and 39% the week before against Buffalo.

Herbig had over 90% of the snaps the previous two weeks with Alex Highsmith out.

Panning the Pirates

Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden ripped the Pirates for what he called “eye wash” offers to Josh Naylor and Kyle Schwarber in recent weeks.

“They knew even if they offered the exact same money each player eventually got, or even $5 million to $10 million more for each player, they weren’t going to get either one,” Bowden said in a post at The Athletic on Thursday. “If a non-contending team like the Pirates wants to sign stars like Schwarber and Naylor away from their playoff teams, they have to grossly overpay, or they’ll never get them.”

Despite an offer from Pittsburgh, Schwarber remained in Philadelphia for five years, $150 million. Word was the Pirates had a $125 million deal on the table. Naylor remained in Seattle for five years, $92.5 million. Reports (that were later disputed) claimed that Pittsburgh offered $78 million over five years.

“The Pirates’ offer for Schwarber should have been six years, $180 million to $200 million. For Naylor, six years, $120 million. Even then, it’s unlikely the players would have signed, but at least it would have given the players and their families something to think about,” Bowden continued. “Once the Pirates become the highest bidder on a big free agent, only then will we know they mean business. For now, it’s just eye wash.”

For those of you who were wondering what I meant about “the Pirates Tax” when I expressed a similar opinion on Wednesday, that’s “the Pirates Tax” in a nutshell.

Related:

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• U mad, bro?: Steelers media, NFL officials, Pirates front office on the naughty list this holiday season
• Mike Tomlin's 'hot seat' response has more layers than you might think

Busy weekend

After their 4-2 loss versus Montreal on Thursday, the Penguins continue their five-game homestand with a pair of afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday.

San Jose faces off against the Pens at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Sharks have 33 points after a 3-2 overtime win in Toronto Thursday. They are currently in a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The Pens shut out the Sharks 3-0 out west in their sixth game of the year. Ex-Penguin Alex Nedeljkovic was in net for the Sharks against the Maple Leafs. He allowed two goals on 30 shots. Alex Wennberg got the game-winner.

Alex Wennberg ends it! ???? pic.twitter.com/LbBE6vWH8n

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 12, 2025

Macklin Celebrini has 44 points for San Jose, third in the NHL.

Utah also has a 3 p.m. start against the Pens on Sunday. The Mammoth are 14-15-3, good for 31 points in the Western Conference. They’ve dropped seven of nine and three in a row.

The Mammoth are in Seattle on Friday night before making the trip to Pittsburgh. The team will be without Pittsburgh product Logan Cooley. He is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks with what the team is calling a lower-body injury.

The West Mifflin native is the franchise’s goal-scoring leader with 14.

Pre-holiday hoops

Before we get to the holidays, there is still a lot of college basketball to be played. All three local men’s teams are in action Saturday.

Robert Morris (7-4) gets the day going at home against Toledo (5-4) at 1 p.m. It’s a nonconference game as the Colonials just split two contests on the road in Wisconsin to open Horizon League play. They beat Green Bay, 80-78, and lost to Milwaukee, 74-72.

Then Pitt renews acquaintances with a former Big East rival in Philadelphia at 4:30. The Panthers are at Finneran Pavilion to play Villanova. The teams haven’t met since a 73-64 Pitt win in 2013. That was the school’s last year in the Big East.

Pitt is 5-5, the Wildcats are 7-2.

As for Duquesne, the Dukes (6-4) have a 10 p.m. start in Reno against Nevada. The Dukes lost 86-64 at Boise State on Tuesday. The Wolfpack are 7-3 and have won three in a row.

On the women’s side, RMU has a 4 p.m. home game on Saturday against Cal (Pa.). Duquesne and Pitt don’t play until Sunday. The Dukes are on the road against Stony Brook at 1 p.m.. Pitt is at Clemson at 2 p.m. Sunday to open ACC play.