Steelers Clips
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett sits one sack away from the single-season record. He’d like to get there by taking down Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"[Rodgers is] legendary himself, and it’s a legendary record I’m here chasing,” Garrett said Friday, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. “That’d be a great one to put a picture on the wall with.”
Garrett currently has 22 sacks. The record of 22.5 is shared by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Rodgers’s current teammate, linebacker T.J. Watt.
Of course, there’s a chance Rodgers will get the day off. If the Ravens lose to the Packers on Saturday night, that “may” affect Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s personnel decisions, since the Steelers will have clinched the AFC North title before their Week 17 game at Cleveland even begins.
And that would perhaps give Garrett a chance to set the record by sacking an old nemesis, Mason Rudolph. If, of course, Tomlin decides to roll with Rudolph and not to give some game reps to rookie Will Howard, who could be a candidate to become the team’s post-Rodgers option at the position.
Regardless of who the quarterback is, Garrett needs just one. And it’s unlikely Rodgers will do the same favor for Garrett that his Green Bay predecessor, Brett Favre, did for Strahan 24 years ago.
T.J. Watt returned to the practice field this week, but the edge rusher won’t be helping the Steelers on Sunday.
Watt has missed the last two games while recovering from a collapsed lung and the Steelers ruled him out for their game against the Browns on Friday’s injury report. Watt was listed as a limited participant in practice all three days this week.
The Steelers will take the field on Sunday with the AFC North title in hand if the Ravens lose to the Packers on Saturday. If Baltimore wins, they’ll need to beat the Browns to avoid a winner take all visit from the Ravens in Week 18.
Safety Jalen Ramsey (illness) and left guard Isaac Seumalo (triceps) are listed as questionable. Wide receiver Calvin Austin (hamstring), cornerback Brandin Echols (groin), and cornerback James Pierre (calf) will join Watt on the inactive list.
As promised, Lions fan Ryan Kennedy met with reporters on Friday regarding Sunday’s incident with Steelers DK Metcalf at Ford Field. As expected, the press conference was a precursor to a likely lawsuit.
The full video can be seen here. Kennedy sat between his two lawyers, wearing a suit jacket, a dress shirt, and a Lions hat turned backward. He spoke briefly.
“It is really hard to get me upset, but there’s two things, animal abuse, racism, like, I get hot right away,” Kennedy said. “Like, I can feel with my face. It gets all warm. So I guess I want to be crystal clear about one thing: I didn’t use any racial slurs, no hate speech. I mean, none of that stuff at the game.
“Actually, never — 15 years, season ticker holder for the Lions, I’ve never done that, at all. So, DeKaylin, if you’re watching this man, just — if you could just say that please, like, my family’s getting threats and stuff, it’s not cool. So whether you said that or not, I’m sure you didn’t want that to happen to the family. Even if you did, like, I forgive you, man. That’s all I got. Go Lions.”
Kennedy seemed agitated and, at times, impatient. Near the end of the 13-minute video, as attorney Shawn Head attempted to take questions from reporters who weren’t present but were participating in the press conference online, Kennedy said, “Why am I still here?”
And that ended the event.
At the outset of the press conference, Head spoke first. He characterized the interaction initiated by Metcalf as an “assault.”
“What happened is this,” Head said. “A professional athlete approached the stands, reached into the stands, grabbed the spectator by his shirt, pulled him downwards, and struck him.”
There has been no claim that the assault physically injured Kennedy. The harm allegedly came from the subsequent effort to justify Metcalf’s behavior.
“After that assault, false accusations of racism and racial slurs were made publicly,” Head said. “As a result, Ryan Kennedy and his family have received threats, they’ve been harassed, and his business has been damaged. His business has received negative online reviews and negative comments based on those false accusations of racist statements.
“Being falsely branded as a racist is one of the most damaging accusations that a private citizen can endure. It’s dangerous, and it causes very real consequences and very real damage.”
And “very real damage” is what usually triggers a very real lawsuit.
Head added that the lawyers have reached out to Metcalf’s representatives, with a request that the record be corrected as to the things said, and not said, by Kennedy. Head explained that, as of Friday morning, the lawyers had received no response.
While that wouldn’t undo the damage already done, silence bolsters the eventual lawsuit, giving Kennedy’s lawyers the ability to argue that they tried, repeatedly, to get Metcalf to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Above all else, it’s clear that a lawsuit is coming — unless Kennedy decides to put the pin back in the grenade.
“The goal here is accountability and to correct the record,” Head said. “Again, the false accusations of racial statements or racial slurs being used causes real damage, and that needs to be corrected. Mr. Kennedy obviously has the ability to correct that record, but so does everybody else who heard what was actually said. And so does Mr. Metcalf. He can come out and tell the truth and indicate that he never heard any racial slur uttered by Mr. Kennedy.”
Head was asked whether a lawsuit has been filed.
“Right now, we’re evaluating all of our options, of course, and we’re gonna make sure that we use any legal remedies available to help protect Ryan Kennedy and his family,” Head said. “And again, we’re not gonna litigate this in the media. We’re here today to set the record straight.”
From Kennedy’s perspective, the record is as straight as it can be. The question is whether Metcalf and/or those who pushed his version to multiple media outlets (and those media outlets) will do the same.
Either way, expect a lawsuit against Metcalf and possibly others. If Metcalf won’t say Kennedy didn’t say what he allegedly said, the only alternative is to get a judge and/or a jury to say it.
The NFL playoff picture has largely taken shape, with 11 of the 14 playoff berths clinched. And the other three playoff berths could all be clinched by Sunday.
We already know that six of the NFC playoff teams will be the Seahawks, Bears, Eagles, 49ers, Rams and Packers. The seventh NFC playoff team will be either the Panthers or Buccaneers.
And we know that five of the AFC playoff teams will be the Broncos, Patriots, Jaguars, Chargers and Bills. One of the two remaining spots will go to either the Steelers or Ravens, and the other will go to either the Texans or Colts.
The Panthers can clinch the seventh and final NFC playoff berth if they win and the Buccaneers lose on Sunday.
The Steelers will clinch one of the AFC playoff berths if they win or the Ravens lose, and the Texans will clinch the other AFC playoff berth if they win or the Colts lose.
Knowing all 14 playoff teams wouldn’t render Week 18 totally meaningless, as there would still be jockeying for playoff seeding, but it would mean a lot of teams won’t have anything to play for in the final weekend of the season. Week 18 could be a rather anticlimactic conclusion to the regular season, and a slow week before the start of the playoffs.
The Steelers gave cornerback Tre Flowers a roster spot for Christmas.
The team announced Flowers’ signing on Thursday. They had an open spot on the 53-man roster thanks to wide receiver DK Metcalf’s two-game suspension for last Sunday’s physical interaction with a fan in Detroit.
As coincidence would have it, Flowers most recently appeared in the NFL as a member of the Lions. He played in two games for the team earlier this season.
Flowers has also appeared in 95 games for the Colts, Jaguars, Falcons, Bengals, and Seahawks. He has 287 tackles, four interceptions, two sacks, five forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries over the course of his career.
The story of the week (Steelers receiver DK Metcalf initiating contact with a fan and getting suspended for two games) continues to generate reactions and opinions. A man who has become well known for some of his opinions chimed in on Wednesday, with an opinion or two of his own.
And everything he said on the matter is 100-percent accurate.
“I think there’s a mindset that you pay for a ticket, you say whatever the hell you want,” Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters from the Pittsburgh locker room. “I think there should be some code of conduct. Obviously, that was intentional, and I think there was some celebration afterwards, on [the fan’s] part. Obviously, [I] don’t condone what DK did, but I understand, you know, there’s been a lot of crazy comments sent my way over the years and, you know, the truth is that that would never happen face-to-face.”
Rodgers is right. I’ve said it for years. Fans who buy a ticket think it’s their birthright to drink as much overpriced beer as they want, and then to say whatever they want, to whoever they want. At every game, including the somewhat neutral Super Bowl.
Rodgers is also right that the things fans say to the players from the stands would never be said to them in a one-on-one setting. One, they think they’re protected from consequences for their words in a stadium. Two, most of them usually aren’t partially or fully inebriated when they’re not at a game. (We’re not suggesting the fan in the Metcalf situation was inebriated to any degree.)
Obviously, there already is a code of conduct. And the league continues to explore whether the fan in question violated it. (There has yet to be a single video of the interaction that includes the fan saying anything that sounds remotely inappropriate.)
The right way to handle verbal abuse from fans is to alert security. Metcalf’s version, as pushed by his camp to the media while the league’s disciplinary decision was pending, included a claim that he previously had complained to security in Seattle about the same fan. So Metcalf knows the protocol. For whatever reason, he chose to bypass it in Detroit.
Fan abuse happens everywhere. As one source who has been present in most NFL stadiums recently told PFT, the worst fan he has experienced attends Seattle games and is parked near the visiting team’s tunnel. “The guy is brutal,” the source said. “Vicious and mean.”
The source added that the Oakland Coliseum used to be the worst place for verbal abuse from fans.
So, yes, it’s a universal reality of in-person NFL football. But there are ways to deal with it properly. We saw on Sunday the way to deal with it improperly.
We also saw what happens when the team in question fails to intervene, which continues to be the most overlooked aspect of the entire situation. Either the Steelers don’t have a protocol for keeping players from approaching fans, or they do and it failed miserably as to Metcalf.
Look for that to change, as to all teams. Memos surely will be sent by the league, and consequences may be imposed on teams that fail to keep players from doing what Metcalf did. The potential for a very bad outcome (which the league and the Steelers avoided in this case) is real, and the outcome could be much worse than Sunday’s incident.
Of course, Sunday’s incident could still become problematic for the league, based on the fact that the league’s media outlet could be joined to the inevitable defamation lawsuit arising from the report that the fan used a racial slur and other wildly inappropriate language toward Metcalf.
Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt was a limited participant in his return to Steelers practice on Wednesday.
Watt was on the practice field for the first time since he suffered a collapsed lung during a dry needling session at the team’s facility earlier this month. Watt has missed the last two games while recovering from the injury, but Wednesday’s development could signal a return to game action as soon as this weekend’s matchup with the Browns.
Running back Jaylen Warren (hip), cornerback James Pierre (calf), edge rusher Nick Herbig (hamstring), and left guard Isaac Seumalo (triceps) were also limited participants on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Calvin Austin (hamstring), cornerback Brandin Echols (groin), right tackle Troy Fautanu (personal), and defensive lineman Cam Heyward (rest) were out of practice. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (left wrist), wide receiver Ben Skowronek (hand), and long snapper Christian Kuntz (knee) were full participants.
The DK Metcalf incident from Sunday is the holiday gift that keeps on giving.
Via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com, Ryan Kennedy (the fan who was assaulted by Metcalf at Ford Field) will conduct a press conference on Friday with his lawyers. The purpose of the event will be to “address the assault, correct misinformation that has been publicly repeated as fact, and discuss the serious consequences Mr. Kennedy has faced.”
The press conference is the latest indication that a lawsuit is coming, against Metcalf and others. One claim will likely be based on the clear assault/battery that Metcalf committed. Even if Kennedy suffered little or no physical harm, the law makes it obvious that Metcalf contacted Kennedy in an offensive manner.
Another claim likely will arise from the publication of the allegation that Kennedy used a racial slur toward Metcalf, along with an inappropriate term about Metcalf’s mother. If, as Kennedy insists, he didn’t say any such thing, the false assertion that he did amounts to defamation. Because Kennedy is not a public figure, the standard for proving defamation is low — any false statement that makes him look bad becomes actionable.
And the defamation claim will have much greater potential harm, and thus financial damages, attached to it. The statement that Kennedy’s lawyers issued on Monday contends that he has experienced “harassment, threats, and messages advocating violence” against him, sparking “serious concern” for his safety and the safety of his family. A defamation lawsuit would be aimed at compensating him for that experience, perhaps with a claim for punitive damages on top of it.
Metcalf apparently shared his version about the things Kennedy allegedly said, directly or indirectly, with multiple media outlets, neither of which mentioned Kennedy’s separate claim that he merely uttered Metcalf’s full name. Metcalf also apparently repeated those claims during his appeal hearing on Tuesday, prompting the NFL to declare on Wednesday that the NFL Network report from Tuesday night that Kennedy will face no discipline by the Lions or the league was “not accurate.”
It’s entirely accurate to say that this episode is far from over. The press conference is next, with a lawsuit likely following it.
Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders briefly left last Sunday’s loss to the Bills after injuring his right pinky finger and it doesn’t look like the issue will cause him any problems heading into this week’s game against the Steelers.
Sanders was listed as a full participant in practice on Wednesday’s injury report. Sanders only missed one offensive snap because of the injury and went 20-of-29 for 157 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the 23-20 loss.
Tight end David Njoku (knee) was the only Browns player to miss practice Wednesday.
Tight end Brenden Bates (ankle), guard Joel Bitonio (rest), cornerback Tyson Campbell (shoulder), defensive tackle Mason Graham (rib), defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. (illness), cornerback Myles Harden (shoulder), safety Rayshawn Jenkins (ankle), guard Teven Jenkins (shoulder), defensive tackle Sam Kamara (elbow), linebacker Winston Reid (back), running back Dylan Sampson (hand), linebacker Carson Schwesinger (ankle), guard Wyatt Teller (calf), and cornerback Denzel Ward (calf) were all listed as limited participants.
The Cardinals activated defensive lineman L.J. Collier from injured reserve on Wednesday as his 21-day return-to-practice window expired. He would have finished the season on injured reserve if the Cardinals hadn’t moved him back onto the active roster.
He returned to practice Dec. 3.
Collier landed on injured reserve after injuring his knee in a Week 2 game against the Panthers.
He takes the roster spot of rookie defensive tackle Walter Nolen III, who went on IR this week with a knee injury.
Collier, who is in his third season with the Cardinals, missed most of 2023 on IR after an injury in Week 1. He played all 17 games in 2024, totaling 3.5 sacks.
The Cardinals also announced they signed quarterback Logan Woodside to the practice squad. He replaces quarterback Jeff Driskel, who signed with the Commanders’ active roster this week.
Driskel will serve as the third quarterback in practice behind Jacoby Brissett and Kedon Slovis.
The team released safety Patrick McMorris from the practice squad to make room.
