First Call: Is Antonio Brown leveraging Patriots opt outs? Penguins problems. Canadiens lose.
Wednesday’s “First Call” checks on Antonio Brown’s latest plea to get back into the NFL. Is he appealing to a former team once again?
We also talk about future plans for a Steelers draft choice and a former coach.
Plus, a look at how the Montreal Canadiens did in their warmup game after the Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers.
One and done
The Penguins had their lone NHL hub exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday. They lost 3-2 in overtime.
Just a few thoughts:
• Like in the regular season, the power play continues to be a mystery. Mike Sullivan is still struggling to best deploy all that talent in harmonious fashion. It went 0 for 3 on the night.
• The Flyers’ two regulation goals were the result of one stumbly defensive shift from Marcus Pettersson and one ghastly turnover from Evgeni Malkin.
"Thanks."
- @KevinPHayes12 (probably). #StanleyCup
??: https://t.co/pqRDv2rMR8 @NHLonNBCSports
??: https://t.co/w05LDX6Xar @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/sfHkM8fyM5— NHL (@NHL) July 28, 2020
It’s tough to pin either of those goals on Matt Murray.
Jeez! Do Malkin and Kris Letang get assists on that one?
• Early in relief, Tristan Jarry may have had to make a few more tough saves than Murray did, jumping right onto a power play. He also made a gem in overtime, before allowing Scott Laughton’s game winner. But I don’t see the need to have Jarry replace Murray as a result of this game.
• Malkin didn’t really wake up until the third period. But when he did, you saw some flashes of how well he could work with Jason Zucker as those two combined to knock in a goal that eventually forced overtime at 2-2.
The Penguins and Montreal Canadiens face off for Game 1 of their best-of-five series at 8 p.m. Saturday in Toronto.
Meanwhile, Montreal had a warmup game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, too. The Canadiens lost 4-2. Alexander Kerfoot scored twice for Toronto, including a shorthanded goal.
Shorthanded speed ?#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/8E70aZ950j
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 29, 2020
Canadiens goalie Carey Price had 19 saves on 23 shots.
Opportunistic A.B.
New England Patriots players are opting out of the 2020 pandemic season at a high rate.
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Patrick Chung are the biggest names. Those two defensive starters are three-time Super Bowl champions.
Running back Brandon Bolden, offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, fullback Danny Vitale and reserve offensive lineman Najee Toran, also have opted out.
However, combined with those defections and free agency losses, the Patriots now have $24 million in cap space, according to Boston Sports Journal cap guru Miguel Benzan.
After accounting for
the opt-outs of Chung, Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Bolden, Toran and Vitale
5 guaranteed salaries added to Patriots dead money
Hastings re-signing
my new Patriots salary cap space number is $24,745,302. The Patriots now have 75 players on their 2020 roster.— Cap Space=$24,735,302 (@patscap) July 28, 2020
The Boston Herald is suggesting that the team may try to pursue pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney in free agency as a result.
Meanwhile former Patriots receiver — and Steelers All Pro — Antonio Brown may be trying to leverage the Patriots into spending some of their newfound cap space.
Remember, Mr. Big Chest is still a free agent. He recently settled a salary dispute with the Patriots. Based on this post, it looks like he’s willing to let bygones be bygones.
Or Brown is just speaking about “possibilities” in general with any team if he can work out his lagging discipline issues with the league. But based on all the news surrounding the Patriots earlier in the day, it seems like more than a coincidence.
Full go for B.A.
Former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is now 68 years old. He’s the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s got Tom Brady as his quarterback. And he’s not leaving the sidelines despite concerns surrounding coronavirus for people in his age group.
Arians was asked Tuesday if he may coach in the booth instead of staying on the sidelines.
“No. There’s no chance of me coaching from a box,” Arians said via ProFootballTalk.com. “Once we get a (face) shield that I like, I’ll have my mask and shield on.
“I’m very comfortable with our protocols now that I’ve gotten used to the protocols.”
Arians has also battled prostate, skin and kidney cancer.
High hopes for Highsmith
Alex Highsmith was the second draft choice for the Steelers in the 2020 draft (third round, pick 102).
The rookie from Charlotte is viewed as a potential replacement for Bud Dupree if the outside linebacker leaves via free agency. Now that Dupree is playing 2020 on the franchise tag and the salary cap could go all the way down to $175 million next year, Dupree’s departure seems almost assured.
Via Zoom, I asked Highsmith if he’s more proficient rushing from the right or left side.
“In college last year, I rushed from the right side,” Highsmith said. “I feel a little more comfortable from that side. But I’ll be practicing from both sides so I can get my moves from different sides. Whatever position they put me in, I’ll do whatever I can to get to the quarterback and stop the run to be a three-down outside linebacker.”
For the last two years, Dupree has started as the right outside linebacker, and T.J. Watt has been on the left side.
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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