First Call: J.J. Watt goes quiet on his brother's contract talk; interesting quote from Kenny Pickett

Thursday’s “First Call” features some interesting comments from J.J. Watt and Kenny Pickett. The Pittsburgh Pirates look for some retribution in San Diego.

And the Penguins may have their eyes on a pending restricted free agent.

Nothing to say

J.J. Watt was on the “Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday. And he didn’t want to discuss his brother’s contract situation with the Steelers.

The outside linebacker has one year remaining on his deal in Pittsburgh, and he probably wants at least close to the kind of money (four years, $160 million) Myles Garrett got from Cleveland on an extension.

“I have a lot of information on that subject. That’s not my subject to discuss,” Watt said.

JEEZE LOUISE @JJWatt ???????? #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/qTEDdHkxjc

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 28, 2025

Well, that’s a first. Nothing has ever stopped J.J. Watt from talking about T.J. on that show in the past. But J.J. went silent this time.

However, he did launch back into another one of his soliloquies about how teams should always feel inclined to pay their players early in the negotiating process, even if a player has term remaining on his deal.

"Ownership and front offices obviously treat this like a business but they don't like it when the players treat it like a business..

If you can take care of your guys earlier you should do that" ~ @JJWatt #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/pNRqMauTWu

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 28, 2025

Got it. So in other words, teams should feel inclined to just renegotiate a contract whenever a player asks for a new one? That sounds like a great business model, J.J.

I mean, the NFL could play that game with the players, I suppose. If players should feel comfortable asking for a raise anytime someone else at their position gets one, let’s forget guarantees in contract language and just make everybody work on one-year deals and have the whole league enter free agency every year. How would that be?

It sure would solve the problem of aging, expensive, underperforming veterans on the back end of deals. Is that what Watt wants?

Probably not. But players should get whatever they want whenever they want it.

See how that works?

What was meant?

New Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett had an interesting response to a question he was asked.

Via ProFootballTalk.com, Pickett was asked about lessons learned from his time in Pittsburgh that might help him in Cleveland. However, Pickett said that it’s actually his time in Philadelphia that really helped.

”When I was in Philly, I would prepare as if I was the starter because you never know when that opportunity is going to come into play,” Pickett said. “There’s more similarities to Philly’s system.”

Pickett added that “a lot of the concepts are the same, and the teaching is the same.” But it was this part of his quote that might get Pittsburgh’s attention.

“I’m extremely grateful for my time in Philly,” Pickett added. “I was shown how it’s supposed to be done, really, from the top down. So you get a chance to see what it’s supposed to look like and how it should look on a day-to-day basis, not just on Sundays. I think it will pay dividends for me in my future.”

I can also see how some Steelers fans can interpret that “how it’s supposed to be done, really, from the top down” part of the quote as a backhanded shot at the Steelers.

Hmm. Also, I thought Kenny didn’t learn anything from sitting on the bench. So, that’s new, I guess.

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Moving on Marco?

Jimmy Murphy hosts a podcast with Pierre McGuire, and he reports for RG Media that the Penguins are one of a handful of teams that have “expressed interest” in Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi.

He’s a pending restricted free agent that Minnesota may want to deal instead of seeing him get an offer sheet.

“There has been speculation that Rossi could be seeking upward of $7 million per season on a long-term deal and just north of $5 million per season on a bridge deal,” Murphy says.

Rossi is a 5-foot-9, 192-pound center. He is 23 years old and just posted 24 goals and 36 assists in 82 regular-season games. But he seemed to slide down the line chart during the playoffs.

A young, pending, restricted-free agent with NHL experience and some offensive ability is exactly the kind of player you might expect Kyle Dubas to target this offseason. Along with the Penguins, Murphy mentioned the likes of Philadelphia, Seattle, Buffalo and Chicago as potential trade partners with Minnesota.

See you in San Diego

After helping Paul Skenes get his first win since April 25 (to accompany a 2.15 ERA) in Arizona on Wednesday, the Pirates head out to San Diego on Friday.

The Padres are currently two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West at 31-23.

San Diego had won three in a row before falling to Miami, 10-8, on Wednesday. They swept the Pirates earlier this month in Pittsburgh.

In terms of pitching, the Padres yield an on-base average of .227. That’s the best in the National League.

Manny Machado’s .313 batting average is fourth in the National League, and his 63 hits are third. He’s also tied for third in doubles with 16. Fernando Tatis’ 13 homers are eighth. Those two are tied for eighth in runs as well at 38 apiece.

LISTEN: Kevin Gorman joins Tim Benz for their weekly baseball podcast