First Call: Hear Tom Brady’s expletive-filled reaction to a question about his future; a Steeler gets postseason honors
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Tom Brady has a NSFW reaction to a question about his NFL future. A former Pittsburgh Steeler is joining the college coaching ranks. Two current Steelers get postseason recognition.
And the Penguins had a good night without even taking the ice.
All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”
Blustery Brady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady may be retiring. Again.
Or he may go to another team. Brady’s contract with Tampa Bay is up. So he is a free agent.
During his weekly SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go,” host Jim Gray asked Brady if he has a timetable as to when he will decide whether he will retire or return for a 24th NFL season.
“Jim, if I knew what I was going to (expletive) do, I’d have already (expletive) done it,” Brady said. “I’m taking it a day at a time.”
Gray responded that it was the question that everyone wanted to hear.
“You’re scratching. I appreciate your asking. Thank you,” Brady said.
You think Tom Brady is getting annoyed by people asking him about retirement or nah? pic.twitter.com/B7u5SqlF8B
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) January 23, 2023
At age 45, Brady finished with 4,694 yards, third most in the NFL. But those numbers were bloated and inefficient. Brady’s adjusted QBR of 52.5 was the lowest of his career. His 6.4 yards per attempt was the lowest average he has posted since 2002.
The Bucs finished 8-9. But that was still good enough to finish first in the hideous NFC South.
A nod to the defense
The Pro Football Writers of America published its All-NFL team Monday. One Steeler was on it. It was safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. This is his third time making the list. Fitzpatrick was one of four players with six interceptions to tie for the NFL lead in 2022.
The other All-NFL safety was Talanoa Hufanga of the San Francisco 49ers.
As for the All-AFC team, Fitzpatrick was joined on that roster by outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. It’s the first such recognition for the third-year pass rusher. He posted a career-high 14.5 sacks in 2022.
Matthew Judon (New England), Roquan Smith (Baltimore) and Matt Milano (Buffalo) were the other linebackers on the list.
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Off to Tulsa
Ryan Switzer is joining a college coaching staff. According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, the former Steelers wide receiver is going to coach the receivers at Tulsa.
The 28-year-old Switzer officially retired from the NFL back in July. He played in Pittsburgh from 2018-19. In two seasons with the Steelers, he caught 44 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown.
Tulsa is now led by first-year coach Kevin Wilson. He’s a former Ohio State offensive coordinator. Switzer was originally selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of North Carolina. The Golden Hurricane went 5-7 in the American Athletic Conference last year.
Pouting Panthers
The Florida Panthers are visiting Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. And they’ll take the ice against the Penguins after coming off a loss.
That’s because they dropped a 6-2 decision at Madison Square Garden to the New York Rangers. Mika Zibanejad had a pair of goals and an assist for New York. And goalie Igor Shesterkin barely missed a rare goalie goal.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 24, 2023
Florida got goals from Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers haven’t lost two games in a row since dropping home contests to the Carolina Hurricanes and Rangers on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1.
Since then, the Panthers have gone 7-3-1. They have 51 points, three behind the Penguins for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
Gaining no ground
Another team in the Eastern Conference with 51 points, nipping at the Penguins heels, is the New York Islanders. They also lost Monday night as the Pens were idle.
The Isles went to Toronto and skated away with a 5-2 defeat. William Nylander scored twice and had two assists.
ICYMI: William Nylander has four points in tonight's game… not a big deal.
: @Sportsnet https://t.co/uEVY6yXLpz #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/17CUFEAN7p
— NHL (@NHL) January 24, 2023
Nylander now has 26 goals and 30 assists. That’s tied for 13th in the NHL. Neither team is in action Tuesday. The Islanders are in Ottawa on Wednesday and the Leafs host the Rangers.
As for the Buffalo Sabres, they started Monday night with 49 points, but jumped into a tie with the Islanders and Panthers after picking up two points in Dallas. Buffalo won that contest 3-2 in overtime.