Tuesday’s “First Call” reveals yet another injury for Pittsburgh Steelers free agent James Conner. This one happened off the field.

Former Penguin Jordan Staal reaches a milestone. A Steelers draft prospect has some advice for whatever team chooses him. And you absolutely have to see the injury P.K. Subban suffered against the Penguins Sunday.

On second thought, you absolutely should not see the injury P.K. Subban suffered against the Penguins Sunday.

In the Cards?

Maybe there is some fire to the smoke when it comes to James Conner and the Arizona Cardinals.

Last week in “First Call,” we shared a CardsWire.com report that suggested the Steelers free agent could be an answer to the franchise’s depth issues at running back.

On Monday, Fox’s Jay Glazer tweeted that Conner was heading out to Arizona for a visit. As it turns out, part of the reason why Conner is still available on the free-agent market is that he is dealing with yet another injury. This time the oft-sidelined Pitt product needed surgery to correct an issue similar to turf toe. And the injury was suffered while riding a recreational vehicle of some sort.

James Conner, one of the top FAs available, will have a physical on his visit to the #AZCardinals today, and that takes on increased importance given the recent surgery. But he should have no issues going foward, source said. https://t.co/rD4s5SV97R

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 12, 2021

The New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have also allegedly expressed interest in Conner.

You aren’t eating right now, are you?

New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban apparently suffered a gruesome injury during Sunday night’s game against the Penguins.

He shared these photos from his Twitter account after his thigh was slashed open by a skate blade.

If you think I embedded that link instead of embedding the tweet because the photos are too nasty to display on their own, the answer is, “Yes. Yes, they are.”

Obviously, you’ve visited this page before.

But according to Subban, he never missed a shift before or after getting stitched up.

‘Staal’wart

Congratulations to former Penguins Stanley Cup champion Jordan Staal. He played in NHL game No. 1,000 with the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night.

As TribLive’s Seth Rorabaugh researched, that’s rarified air for any draft choice of the Pens.

Jordan Staal (2006) will become the seventh Penguins draft pick to reach the 1,000-game mark.

He was preceded by:

Doug Bodger (1984)Mark Recchi (1988)Jaromir Jagr (1990)Markus Naslund (1991)Brooks Orpik (2000)Sidney Crosby (2005)

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) April 12, 2021

Staal has played nine years and 569 games with the Hurricanes. He played six years and 431 games with the Pens. That’s not including 96 combined postseason games between the two franchises.

The Hurricanes lost to the Detroit Red Wings 3-1. Staal is sitting on 567 career points after getting an assist during the loss.

So now you know

Zaven Collins is an interesting prospect that has popped up on some Steelers draft boards of late.

The Tulsa standout plays like an inside linebacker in a 3-4. But he’s big enough to be a 3-4 rush end.

Collins is 6-foot-4 and weighed in at 259 pounds at his pro day. He ran the 40 in 4.67 seconds, but that is still very good for his size. And he seems to have better football speed in pads.

Does your team need a do-it-all LB? @TulsaFootball's Zaven Collins might be your guy. (via @chad_reuter)

: 2021 #NFLDraft -- April 29 - May 1 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/HE88V1rJ2f

— NFL (@NFL) April 10, 2021

In eight games for Tulsa in 2020, he had 54 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and four interceptions. He returned two of them for touchdowns.

And he wants to play as an off-the-ball linebacker in the NFL.

“I would say that the position that’s able to let someone run, chase down, make tackles in the backfield, be in coverage, just run sideline to sideline,” Collins said after his pro day.

“Any position that allows me to run, move freely, not confine me to really one side, to let me be really involved in the defense is what’s going to best suit me mostly because I just have a knack for the football, like being around the football, like being able to run … So in some defenses, it’s very suitable for me to be in the outside linebacker position, and in some defenses, it’s not so suitable because you’re strictly basically like a rush end.”

Given the loss of Vince Williams, that may be a good fit for the Steelers. And, with Bud Dupree having left for Tennessee, Collins may be able to substitute as an edge rusher, too.

Reunited

The Cincinnati Bengals are bringing in a familiar target for quarterback Joe Burrow.

It’s former LSU tight end Thaddeus Moss. He was an undrafted rookie signed by the Washington Football Team in 2020.

Moss, the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, was waived on April 9 by Washington after failing to get a snap in his rookie season. As a redshirt junior his last year at LSU, Moss finished with 47 receptions for 570 receiving yards. Those are school records for tight ends. He also had four touchdowns including two in the 2019-20 College Football Playoff National Championship game.

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