First Call: Injury preventing Antonio Brown from finalizing Tampa contract; trio of dominance from ex-Pirates pitchers

Thursday’s “First Call” features a snag in Antonio Brown’s contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We celebrate a happy anniversary with Evgeni Malkin. You can already bet on who may be next year’s Trevor Lawrence in the NFL Draft.

And a trio of former Pirates dusted their competition.

A.B.’s knee

Antonio Brown still has yet to sign his new contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Back in late April, the former Steelers receiver agreed to terms with the Super Bowl champions on a one-year deal for a guaranteed $3.1 million, including a $2 million signing bonus.

As it turns out, though, pen was never put to paper on that contract. According to Pewter Report, Mr. Big Chest still has one big problem. He hasn’t passed a physical. A.B. is having knee problems, and he is getting it scoped next week.

That’s according to head coach Bruce Arians who told the outlet, “He’s getting his knee cleaned out, and everything will work out fine. It’s just a matter of a physical. … He was a model citizen the whole time he’s been here. We wanted him back, and he’s never had surgery in his life.”

Brown had 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns in eight games. He also collected a 1-yard touchdown pass in the 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Long-range futures

If you don’t agree with Cam Heyward and you think that the Steelers will draft a quarterback next year as Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement, odds are already out about who will be next year’s No.1 overall NFL pick.

According to BetOnline.ag, four of the five potential selections with the top odds are quarterbacks. Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler is atop the list at 5/4. He’s followed by North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell at 7/2 in third place. Liberty signal caller Malik Willis is fourth at 9/1. Then it’s Texas Tech’s Tyler Shough in fifth at 10/1.

The only non-quarterback in the top five is Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Oregon edge rusher is in second — right behind Rattler — at 11/4.

Rattler is also already being mocked to the Steelers by CBSSports.com for the 2022 draft. They have the Steelers drafting 13th. And they have Rattler going as the second quarterback off the board following Howell.

Happy anniversary, Geno!

We don’t know if Evgeni Malkin will play in Thursday’s Game 3 of the Penguins-Islanders playoff series.

We do know that he can celebrate an anniversary on Friday, though. It’ll be 12 years to the day — May 21, 2009 — since his fabulous Eastern Conference Final hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes at Mellon Arena.

That’s when he scored one of the most memorable goals in Penguins history. After winning an offensive zone faceoff from future teammate Matt Cullen, Malkin tracked down the puck below the goal line himself, skated from behind the goal, twisted and fired a backhand laser past a stunned Cam Ward.

That was his third goal of the day, and it gave the Penguins a 6-4 lead in Game 2 of the series. They’d go on to win 7-4. And they’d end up sweeping the Hurricanes five days later to claim the conference championship.

Magic from Musgrove and Morton

Did you happen to notice the combined efforts of former Pirates Charlie Morton and Joe Musgrove Wednesday night?

Musgrove pitched seven shutout innings for the San Diego Padres, allowing just two hits, striking out 11 and walking none. He got the win as the Padres blanked the Rockies 3-0.

Java Joe serving up Ks.@Petco | https://t.co/sXEoYOGaZk pic.twitter.com/hVigbn1HMI

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 20, 2021

Meanwhile, Morton got a no-decision despite allowing just one earned run over six innings. He also allowed only two hits while striking out eight and walking none.

Six-inning gem for Charlie Morton. pic.twitter.com/n8bdS25JOB

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) May 20, 2021

The Braves beat the Mets 5-4.

Did I mention former Pirates closer Mark Melancon got his Major League-leading 15th save for Musgrove, working a clean ninth inning?

I didn’t? Oh. Well, he did.

So here’s the combined line score for the three pitchers. They were 1-0 with a save over 14 innings, with 19 strikeouts and no walks. Yielding only one earned run and four hits.

The Pirates lost 8-5 in St. Louis against the Cardinals.