In Friday’s “First Call,” are the Patriots really thinking about trying to get Antonio Brown back on their roster? Myles Garrett’s celebrity twin. The Bengals have many problems. We focus on one in particular. And former Pitt basketball star Steven Adams brings the funny in a new commercial.

'Kicking the tires'

Or kicking a Cleveland punter?

Hurdles! Kicks a man! pic.twitter.com/WrgL0iED2E

— Nick Tyrell (@nicktyrell) November 15, 2019

Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is out of work and waiting for the league to clear him before a team can sign him onto their roster.

This in the wake of his excommunication thanks to intimidating a woman who lodged a sexual assault complaint against him.

Now, word from WEEI Radio in Boston is that the Patriots may be trying to figure out if it is possible to get Brown back on their roster sometime soon.

Per @WEEI @christianfauria, the #Patriots have "kicked the tires" on Antonio Brown. Says there have been discussions about the player.

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) November 21, 2019

That report came from Christian Fauria. He won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.

But his greatest accomplishment is that he survived a 15-month prison sentence as my radio cohost in Boston.

That unfortunate burden may have skewed his ability to reason. So take this report with a grain of salt.

NBC Boston refuted it a short time later.

I see the resemblance

On the heels of Cleveland Browns linebacker Myles Garrett hurling an unsupported claim of racism against Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, the internet exploded with Jussie Smollett memes.

Smollett is the “Empire” actor who the City of Chicago purports is responsible for advancing a false claim that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in January. Chicago prosecutors charged Smollett with multiple counts of filing a false police report, though criminal charges have been dropped.

So, you can see the similarities.

Twitter can, too.

Myles Smollett pic.twitter.com/HYbLor4lnl

— Paul B (@PittYinzer) November 22, 2019

Myles Garrett after finding out his suspension wasn’t going to be reduced... pic.twitter.com/wOcErrGh0C

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) November 21, 2019

Is this Jussie Smollett #milesgarrett pic.twitter.com/8PbIZFdUzk

— Trompie ☃️ (@BG00276144) November 21, 2019

Jussie Smollett and Myles Garrett pic.twitter.com/Zc7qFH13na

— J (@LastAtName) November 21, 2019

Unfortunately for Garrett, Smollett was top of mind when his accusations came out. On Thursday, he filed a counterclaim against Chicago for malicious prosecution.

Beautiful timing.

Beef

It’s what’s for dinner.

At Steven Adams’ house, I guess.

The former Pitt basketball player — now with the Oklahoma City Thunder — was brought on board by the Oklahoma Beef Council to film this PSA.

The partnership between @RealStevenAdams and @OklaBeef is what we all need. pic.twitter.com/fsKkYW8UUA

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 21, 2019

That was spectacular.

Raise your hand if you think that was one of the best commercial parodies you have seen in a while.

OK. Good. Good.

Now, raise your hand if you think that was filmed without irony and in complete earnest.

Alright. I see we have a 50-50 split here …

Be better

What’s one thing the 0-10 Bengals are missing?

Stop laughing. I said one thing. Not all of them. Just one.

Well, according to Bengals.com, it’s downfield blocking from the wide receivers.

“I’ve been emphasizing that for a while now,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “We challenged those guys on their effort down the field. We thought we were going to get some big plays in the run game that we wanted to have touchdowns on. Not 20-yard runs. So we really challenged those guys to have great effort down the field. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. But we’re going to keep being hard on those guys in demanding – especially early in the game – when you should have a lot of energy you should be blocking your tail off down the field to pop some big runs.”

Something must be getting in gear for Joe Mixon, though. The Cincinnati running back has 200 yards on 45 carries the last two weeks.

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