First Call: Steelers set pre-draft interview with Florida DT; Chase Claypool's hazy future in Chicago; NFL CB movement

Monday’s “First Call” has movement on the cornerback front that may interest Pittsburgh Steelers fans. A second Steelers draft visit has become public. Chase Claypool’s long-term future is up for debate in Chicago.

Plus, an ex-Penguins coach plays the role of good Samaritan upon a nationally televised return to Pittsburgh.

‘Corner’ing the market

One big-name NFL cornerback was traded over the weekend. Another has been granted permission to seek a trade.

Former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey has been dealt to the Miami Dolphins. Ramsey is coming off the sixth Pro Bowl season of his career and third with the Rams.

Via Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, the Dolphins will give up a 2023 third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long in exchange. Rapoport also says Ramsey is receiving an adjusted contract that will see him get two years fully guaranteed to complete a deal that averages $20 million per season.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles are giving star cornerback Darius Slay permission to seek a trade. I’m sure that’ll catch the Steelers’ interest, especially since the club needs help at that position and assistant general manager Andy Weidl used to be the vice president of player personnel in Philadelphia.

During his weekly “Big Play Slay Podcast,” Slay said he did not ask to be traded.

“I just want my fans to know, Slay did not ask to be traded,” he said. “But this is part of the business. There’s no bad blood against neither one of us, me or (general manager) Howie (Roseman). None of that. We all good. Great understanding, just the business part of it. A lot of guys go up for trade.”

The 32-year-old Pro Bowler is entering the final year of a contract that is slated to count for $26 million against next year’s salary cap. So Slay and the Eagles would either have to agree on a renegotiated deal or find a team willing to trade for him. At that kind of cap hit, any new team (especially the Steelers) would have to restructure the contract.

Going Gator?

Another Steelers top-30 draft visit has been revealed. It’s Gervon Dexter. The Florida defensive lineman revealed the news on the “Stadium and Gale” podcast Friday.

Dexter said he’s got at least five or six top-30 visits lined up, including the Steelers. Other teams he mentioned were the Browns, Eagles, Giants and Bills.

The Steelers were one of the 22 teams to have a formal meeting with Dexter at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis as well. It is the second known top-30 visit that the Steelers have scheduled. Offensive tackle Dawand Jones of Ohio State is the other.

The Steelers need youth and talent along the defensive line, especially inside. Coming out of the SEC at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, Dexter could qualify. He’s been projected as a second day selection.

More sports

• Tim Benz: If Pitt has 'joy with a mixture of hunger' conflict over being seeded in Dayton, there's a way to reconcile it
• Free agency primer: Keeping secondary intact could be primary objective for Steelers
• 'Tough as nails' Penguins forward Nick Bonino recovers from lacerated kidney

Future cloudy for Claypool

The Chicago Bears’ recent trade of the first overall pick in the NFL draft to Carolina has led to some questions about the franchise’s intentions for Chase Claypool.

The Steelers sent Claypool to Chicago before last year’s trade deadline for Chicago’s second-round pick. That selection will now be the first one in the second round.

Yet part of the package Carolina sent to the Bears in exchange for the No. 1 overall pick includes wide receiver D.J. Moore. That means that Claypool will likely be relegated to the Bears’ third wide receiver at best. After all, the team also has Darnell Mooney, who had a 1,050-yard season in 2021 before missing eight games last season. Mooney is entering the final year of his contract, as is Claypool.

Via ProFootballTalk.com, “Moore’s contract averages more than $20 million per year. He’ll make slightly more than that in 2023. Next year, his pay dips to $17 million. In 2025, he’ll make just over $16 million. Given the cash flow in the final two years of the contract, Moore may be looking for a new contract after the coming season. Claypool quite possibly is looking for one now.”

After Claypool put up just 14 catches for 140 yards and no touchdowns after the trade to Chicago, it’d be hard to imagine the Bears making Claypool any sort of a priority at the position until or unless he shows a return to form of his rookie year in Pittsburgh.

Unless the Bears decide they want to trade Mooney instead because they think he’ll cost more or yield more in return.

Helping hand

Ed Olczyk was on the ABC call of the Penguins-Rangers game Sunday. The former Penguins coach was trying to extend a neighborly assist while he was in town.

It appears Olczyk found somebody’s lost driver’s license in Downtown Pittsburgh and wanted them to know that he had picked it up. So, reaching a national audience, Edzo put out the call to anyone who knew “Jennifer Cox of Allison Park” that he had found the license, and it was in the mail being sent back to her.

PSA for Jennifer Lynn Cox (spelling?):

The NHL on TNT broadcast team found your driver's license #LetsGoPens | #NYR pic.twitter.com/fxezuc5o1J

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) March 12, 2023

That’s quite a nice gesture from Olczyk. No one needs an unnecessary trip to the DMV. Ever.

Remember us?

If you are looking for a dark horse team to root for in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Kent State has a few players with some Pittsburgh ties. The Golden Flashes feature guards Sincere Carry and Mike Bekelja and forward Chris Payton.

Carry and Bekelja are Duquesne transfers. The two brothers overlapped for a year at Duquesne before getting reconnected at Kent State. Bekelja’s parents have been legal guardians of Carry since he was in sixth grade. Carry leads the Flashes with 17.6 points and 4.9 assists per game.

As for Payton, he played 13 games at Pitt last year before transferring. He scored 17 points on 7 of 7 shooting during Saturday’s upset of Toledo in the MAC championship game.

Former Pitt assistant Jim Christian is also on the coaching staff of head coach Rob Senderhoff. Kent State, a No. 13 seed, plays fourth-seeded Indiana on Friday at 9:55 p.m. in Albany, N.Y.