First Call: Bud Dupree already looking forward to his return to Pittsburgh; concerns for 2 Steelers opponents

Tuesday’s “First Call” features some troublesome news for two upcoming opponents of the Pittsburgh Steelers. A former Steelers linebacker is anxious for his return to Pittsburgh as an AFC rival in 2024.

An ex-Penguin has helped his team advance to the NHL’s Western Conference Final. And the Pirates are hoping to exploit a specific trend against their next foe at PNC Park this week.

Big Bud’s big return

Bud Dupree is already looking at his team’s game in Pittsburgh in Week 3.

Now a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, Dupree was on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast (via Steelers Depot), and the linebacker discussed his scheduled homecoming to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 22.

“It’s always (a) great homecoming to go back to Pittsburgh, no matter what team you’re playing for,” Dupree said. “If you played in Pittsburgh, it’s always good. It’s always a great feeling. The fans always show you love. … The whole coaching staff that was there when I played is still there. They never change. So it’ll always be good opportunity to see those people.”

Actually, Dupree’s former defensive coordinator, Keith Butler, is gone. Head coach Mike Tomlin and some other veteran assistants are still on the staff, including current coordinator Teryl Austin who has had that job since 2022. He overlapped with Dupree as the secondary coach while Dupree was a Steeler.

The 31-year-old Dupree is also gearing up to play against the Steelers’ promising young tackles — Broderick Jones and rookie Troy Fautanu. That’s if Fautanu wins a starting job.

“Young guys, they come out hyped,” Dupree said. “You gotta let them know early on that, ‘I’m a grown man and you’re still a kid.’ You gotta make sure you’re telling them that. But at the end of the day, they’re two first-rounders, so they’re going to be talented.”

Dupree was selected in the first round of the 2015 draft. He stayed in Pittsburgh through the 2020 season before leaving for the Tennessee Titans in free agency. He spent two years there before joining the Atlanta Falcons last year. Dupree’s Chargers also visit Atlanta in Week 13.

Opponent problems

A pair of Steelers opponents in 2024 are dealing with problems.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has no immediate plans to sign his franchise tag. That is according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Unless Higgins signs the tender, he won’t be able to work out with the club at organized team activities on May 28-30 and June 3-6. Minicamp is scheduled for June 11-13.

Higgins wants a long-term contract extension. He and the Bengals have not been able to come to terms. The 25-year-old out of Clemson is the only one of eight players who was tagged that has not worked out a multiyear contract.

The deadline to do so is July 15. He’ll make $21.8 million on the one-year franchise tag if he eventually signs it. Higgins must sign the tender before Nov. 12. If he doesn’t, Higgins won’t be able to play at all this season. The Steelers and Bengals don’t play each other until Dec. 1.

As for the Denver Broncos, they’ve likely lost linebacker Drew Sanders for most, if not all, of 2024. News9 in Denver reports that Sanders tore an Achilles tendon during the team’s offseason program in mid-April. The report indicates that Sanders has had surgery to repair the injury. He is expected to miss between six and nine months.

The Steelers and Broncos play each other in September during Week 2. Sanders played in all 17 games, starting four. He was expected to get more playing time this year with the departure of Josey Jewell to Carolina in free agency.

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• Mark Madden: Rotation looks promising, but Pirates have urgent need for bats

Road woes

The Pirates return to action Tuesday night against San Francisco. The Giants come into PNC Park with the longest current winning streak in the National League. They have won four in a row.

The first of those wins was against the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1, on Thursday. Then they swept the pathetic Colorado Rockies by scores of 10-5, 14-4 and 4-1.

One area where the Giants have struggled is their play on the road, though. Bob Melvin’s team is just 8-15 away from Oracle Park. Only the Rockies (6) and Miami Marlins (7) have fewer road victories in the National League.

In road games this year, the Giants have a team ERA of 5.34, 27th in Major League Baseball. Teams are hitting .274 in their home parks against Giants pitching. The Rockies pitching staff is the only one with a worse batting average against on the road (.286).

The Giants are 23-25, third place in the NL West. The Pirates are 22-26, third place in the NL Central. San Francisco took two of three from the Pirates at Oracle Park in late April, winning twice by scores of 3-0 and 3-2 and losing 4-3 in 10 innings.

Logan Webb (4-4, 3.03 ERA) pitches the opener against Martin Perez (1-3, 4.86) on Tuesday. Perez is coming off an outing when he yielded nine runs on five homers against Milwaukee last week. Meanwhile, Webb tossed six innings of shutout baseball against the Dodgers in that win on Thursday.

See Ceci in Dallas

The Edmonton Oilers came back from down 3-2 in their best-of-seven series against the Vancouver Canucks. They ended up winning the Western Conference semifinal in a seventh game Monday night by a final score of 3-2.

Former Penguin Cody Ceci got the ball rolling for the Oilers. He scored the game’s first goal less than two minutes into the second period.

CECI COMES IN CLUTCH ???? pic.twitter.com/kjetl68Fpz

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 21, 2024

That was just Ceci’s second goal and third point of the playoffs. Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers. Edmonton led 3-0 after two periods. The Canucks mounted a comeback. But it fell short.

Up next, the Oilers face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. The winner gets either the New York Rangers or Florida Panthers out of the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Eastern series starts up Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. The Western series begins Thursday in Texas.