First Call: Steelers may have 1st-round trade-down partner, if they want; another team fends off WR trade rumors

Monday’s “First Call” has a draft day trade idea for the Pittsburgh Steelers. More news on a potential Steelers trade target from the wide receiver talent pool. The Pirates may be facing the wrong team at the wrong time.

And an ex-Pirates pitcher is mowing down the National League.

Something to remember

Since the Steelers have so many needs that they would like to address over the first two days of the NFL Draft, trading down in the first round to pick up an extra selection may not be a bad idea.

That would be especially true if one of the many coveted first-round tackles or one of the top three centers (Graham Barton, Jackson Powers-Johnson or Zach Frazier) are still projected to be on the board beyond the club’s current draft position of No. 20.

If general manager Omar Khan is so inclined, he may have a trade partner that makes sense. Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said he might be interested in trying to trade up depending on what the board looks like once the first round gets to roughly the 20th pick.

“Around pick 20 we’ll know if we want to start attempting to move up or not,” Licht said via the the team’s website.

That said, it sounds as if Licht may be resistant to trading away his stash of picks.

“I really have a lot of trust in my staff — both the coaching staff and the scouting staff — and how we’ve been operating,” Licht added. “Those picks seem pretty important to me, right now.”

As of now, Tampa holds No. 26 in the first round and No. 57 in the second round. Like the Steelers, they also have two picks in the third round — Nos. 89 and 92. The Steelers are sitting on Nos. 20, 51, 84 and 98.

Trading down in the first round has not happened frequently for the Steelers. The last time the franchise made that move was in 2001, dropping from 16 to 19. The club wound up with five-time Pro Bowler Casey Hampton.

Cross off Courtland?

For those that still have trading for a starting-caliber wide receiver on their Steelers’ offseason wish list (writer pauses to raise hand), Cortland Sutton may not be available after all.

Last week it appeared that Sutton might be on the NFL trade block given some apparent contract angst. He’s staying away from the team’s voluntary workouts. But the Denver Broncos tried to quell that storyline last week when GM George Paton said that Sutton “is in a good place.”

Now ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler is posting that the Broncos have no plans on trading Sutton despite multiple inquiries.

The #Broncos have received multiple trade inquiries on wide receiver Courtland Sutton, per sources. The Broncos do not plan to trade Sutton, who is skipping voluntary workouts due to his contract. pic.twitter.com/whEgRhjyAf

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 20, 2024

Last season, Sutton led the Broncos with 59 catches, 772 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Sutton is reportedly working out in Florida after offseason ankle surgery. His base salary for 2024 is $13 million. The total cap number in Denver currently is $17.39 million according to OverTheCap.com.

Bad timing for Brewers

Now may not be the best time for the Pirates to open their first divisional series of the year.

Certainly not against the best team in the division.

Losers of six straight and eight of 10, the Pirates (11-11) begin a four-game set against the National League Central Division-leading Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. Milwaukee comes to PNC Park at 14-6 with a two-game lead on the second place Chicago Cubs. The Brewers just swept the St. Louis Cardinals and have won four in a row.

During that four-game streak, Milwaukee won three of the games by scores of 1-0, 2-1 and 2-0. The other game was a 12-5 dusting of the Cards on Saturday.

Catcher William Contreras has a .354 batting average, third best in the National League behind Los Angeles All-Stars Shohei Ohtani (.368) and Mookie Betts (.355). He is also third in the NL in RBIs with 20 and fifth in hits with 29.

STILL the best-hitting catcher in baseball ????#Brewers // #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/3kr1DvmTa1

— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) April 20, 2024

Second baseman Brice Turang is tied for the NL lead in stolen bases with 10. As a team, the Brewers have 27 steals, which is the third most in MLB.

The Brewers team batting average of .275 and team OPS of .789 are second best in MLB behind only the Atlanta Braves (.283/.828). Their 27 homers are fourth-best in baseball. With 114 runs, the Brewers rank eighth.

Pitching-wise, the Brewers have yielded 70 earned runs, the fewest in the National League. The team’s WHIP of 1.23 is tied with the Pirates for third place in the NL.

The Brewers have a run differential of plus-35, tied with the Braves for tops in the National League, and their 10 road wins are the most in the NL as well.

So, things should really go great at PNC Park this week.

Gas from Glasnow

With the Pirates scuffling, maybe it’s best if we look elsewhere around Major League Baseball to get our baseball fix.

Or maybe it isn’t.

Out in Los Angeles, ex-Pirate Tyler Glasnow spun a gem for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He racked up 10 strikeouts over eight shutout innings to beat the New York Mets, 10-0.

Have a day, Tyler Glasnow!

He finishes his 8th shutout inning with his 10th strikeout! pic.twitter.com/HTG89AlnjG

— MLB (@MLB) April 21, 2024

By the way, Glasnow — he of multiple arm injuries on a team with World Series hopes — was allowed to throw 101 pitches.

Go figure!

Glasnow leads MLB in strikeouts with 44. His 0.95 WHIP and his .193 batting average against are eighth in the National League.

Another former Pirate, Joe Musgrove, threw seven innings, allowing three runs, and got his third win of the year for the San Diego Padres as they doubled up the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-3.

Listen: Tim Benz and Kevin Gorman discuss the Pirates