First Call: Najee Harris trade talk dismissed; Duquesne WR gets Steelers' look; Antonio Brown jab makes Tom Brady roast

Tuesday’s “First Call” finds a dismissal of some Najee Harris trade talk. A Duquesne wide receiver is getting a shot with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joey Porter Jr.’s cousin won’t be joining him in the Steelers’ defensive backfield after all.

And we give you the Antonio Brown joke that made it into the Netflix roast of Tom Brady.

Nothing on Najee

In the wake of the Steelers’ decision to decline the club’s fifth-year option on running back Najee Harris, some trade speculation quickly ensued. The website Fansided advanced a trade proposal that would send Harris to Dallas for a fourth-round pick.

That’s a good idea for Dallas. The Cowboys need a running back. Tony Pollard is now a Tennessee Titan. Dallas decided to bring former Cowboy Ezekiel Elliott back under the tent. But he’ll need better quality help than just Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman behind him.

It doesn’t sound like such a deal will happen, though. NFL Network’s Jane Slater followed up on the thought. A team source told her it was “clickbait.”

On these Najee Harris and Cowboys reports, team source tells me "click bait" ????????‍♀️

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) May 6, 2024

Not to mention, regarding the Steelers, what’s in it for them?

For as little as running backs may be valued, the Steelers are better served holding onto a player with three 1,000-yard seasons under his belt for just $1.7 million this year as opposed to getting a third-day pick 12 months from now.

Sounded good in theory

It was a nice story on paper, but now it’s not going to happen.

Via Justin Melo of the Draft Network, cornerback Shon Stephens has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles after a rookie minicamp tryout. So he won’t be getting a look from the Steelers after all.

Stephens is the cousin of Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and the nephew of retired Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr.

The #Eagles are signing CB Shon Stephens after a successful rookie minicamp tryout, per source.

Stephens, the nephew of #Steelers great Joey Porter was scheduled to attend Pittsburgh's minicamp, but the #FlyEaglesFly are getting a deal done.

— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) May 6, 2024

A product of Ferris State and West Liberty, Stephens impressed scouts when he was invited to Michigan State’s Pro Day before this year’s draft. But, at just 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Stephens went undrafted. However, he did get invites from the Eagles and Steelers for their rookie minicamps.

Philadelphia’s was last week. Pittsburgh’s is this week. And the Eagles must’ve liked Stephens enough that they wanted to sign him before the Steelers got eyes on him.

Stephens was ready to make the leap up to Division I on separate occasions with Penn State and Purdue, but the NCAA transfer eligibility rules got in the way.

More sports

• Tim Benz: Blaming assistant coaches won't fix Pittsburgh's plodding sports teams
• Mark Madden: Umpires hardly at root of Pirates' offensive struggles — and other sports notes
• Madden Monday: 'Sully has got to go. I'm tired of saying, 'He's a great coach, but ...''

DJ the Duke

Everyone knows the Steelers want help at wide receiver. Now, a former Duquesne pass catcher is looking to impress the team.

According to Duquesne’s website, Dukes product DJ Powell is getting an invite to the Steelers’ 2024 rookie minicamp.

DJ Powell has caught a touchdown in 4⃣ straight games!

8⃣ TDs on the season is good for 2nd in the entire @NCAA_FCS ????#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/3g9wVk9ch8

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) October 31, 2023

Powell was a first-team All-NEC selection last season as a grad transfer from Bethune-Cookman. He led the Dukes with 713 receiving yards, 20.9 yards per catch, 59.4 yards per game and nine receiving touchdowns.

Powell finished his collegiate career with 85 catches, 1,619 yards and 12 touchdowns. This is the second straight season a Duquesne wide receiver has been invited to the Steelers’ rookie minicamp. Dwayne Menders participated in 2023.

The annual rookie minicamp will take place Friday-Sunday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.

Come along

Moon’s John Calipari is taking one of his own with him to his new destination.

The former Kentucky basketball coach took a job with the SEC rival Arkansas Razorbacks last month. Now we find out a former Wildcat player with Pittsburgh ties is heading to Fayetteville as well.

Quaker Valley’s Adou Thiero is leaving Lexington for Arkansas via the transfer portal to follow his former coach.

Adou Thiero is a Razorback ????

Thiero will reunite with Coach Cal in Fayetteville ???? pic.twitter.com/a6QVdXufqy

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 6, 2024

The sophomore guard/forward averaged 7.2 points and five rebounds per game for the Wildcats while shooting 49% from the field. He played just seven minutes with two points in front of the hometown crowd when the Wildcats lost to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena during March Madness.

The Leetsdale product is now 6-foot-8, 222 pounds. Thiero averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds during his senior year en route to becoming the 4A Player of the Year.

A little fun among … friends?

Despite being Tom Brady’s teammate on two occasions, one-time Steeler Antonio Brown never shied away from taking shots at his former quarterback’s marital issues with Gisele Bündchen.

I’m sure because of that, Brown was not on the invite list as part of the much anticipated Netflix roast of Brady on Sunday.

That didn’t stop host Kevin Hart from including Brown on the list of jabs, though.

“Gisele is actually here supporting you tonight, but just full transparency — she came as Antonio Brown’s plus-one,” Hart joked.

Cleary, A.B. appreciated the reference as he reposted the clip on social media.

In the crowd as Giselle’s +1 ????
@KevinHart4real
#CTESPN https://twitter.com/AB84/status/1787281937796599913/video/1

— AB (
@AB84
) May 6, 2024

Brown played with Brady in both Tampa Bay and New England.