Tuesday’s “First Call” has an interesting nugget about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ gameday television broadcast on Christmas against the Chiefs. San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk seems jaded about his current team. Tee Higgins will at least play for Cincinnati on the franchise tag at least this season.
We also give an update on Deshaun Watson’s health in Cleveland.
Unwanted?
San Francisco 49er Brandon Aiyuk has long been perceived as a trade target for the Steelers to build up their thin wide-receiving ranks. Now he’s claiming that his current franchise doesn’t want him around anymore.
Via ESPN.com, in a recent social media post, Aiyuk is filmed making a FaceTime call to Washington Commanders quarterback and former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels. During the conversation, Aiyuk claims that the Niners don’t want to keep him.
“They said they don’t want me back,” Aiyuk said to Daniels.
“That’s it?” Daniels questions.
“I swear,” Aiyuk replied.
“My boy,” Daniels shouted.
In a caption on the post, “I’m laughing but im crying fr.”
Whatever has gone down between Aiyuk and the 49ers in contract negotiations, suggesting that the team doesn’t “want him back” seems highly melodramatic. After all, Aiyuk is a second-team All-Pro and was reportedly offered $26 million per year to stay in San Francisco. So they must want him … a little.
But the social media post coincides with an ESPN report from Jeremy Fowler over the weekend that negotiations between the receiver and the franchise have stalled.
Aiyuk is slated to make $14 million on his fifth-year option to his entry-level contract. Previously, San Francisco general manager John Lynch had balked at the idea of trading Aiyuk to Pittsburgh. But if things have gotten this bad, this late in the process, maybe trade talks will go on the table in earnest.
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Tee’s tag
One receiver who will be sticking with his current team for at least one more year is Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins.
The fifth-year pass catcher out of Clemson signed his franchise tag tender Monday, according to the club. The 2020 second-round draft choice is set to make $21.8 million this year. The Bengals have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with him.
“I’m excited to move forward with Tee,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said via the organization’s official announcement. “He’s done a great job handling his situation, and we are happy to get him back in the fold so we can start working toward a great 2024 season. The locker room will be excited to have him back around.”
Over his first four seasons, Higgins has caught 257 passes for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns. He posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and ‘22.
The Bengals are also trying to get an extension in place with their other star receiver, Ja’Marr Chase. He did attend mandatory minicamp exercises after choosing to not participate in the Bengals’ voluntary organized team activities.
What’s up with Watson?
Meanwhile, fans of Ohio’s other team are keeping an eye on their quarterback. Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson is making his way back from shoulder surgery in November.
After simply taking mental reps and staying out of throwing drills in team periods during OTAs, Watson ramped up to being part of seven-on-sevens in minicamp.
Speaking Monday on the NFL Network, Browns general manager Andrew Berry proclaimed Watson as being “ahead of schedule” in his rehab.
“He’s had a really nice spring,” Berry said on “The Insiders” program. “He’s thrown the ball well. Did a really nice job during our seven-on-seven and team periods during this veteran minicamp. So, we’re excited as he gets into training camp and gets the pads on. He’s making excellent progress.
“Honestly, if you didn’t know he got hurt last year, you really wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. We’re very excited once camp starts.”
Berry declined to comment on wide receiver Amari Cooper’s status, though. Cooper didn’t participate in minicamp as the team is working on a contract extension. The 30-year-old is entering the final year of a five-year contract worth $100 million that he signed with the Dallas Cowboys before a trade to Cleveland in 2022.
Holiday pay
Netflix is still trying to figure out who will call and produce its Christmas Day games this year. One of which is the Steelers vs. Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium. Baltimore versus Houston is the other one.
According to CNBC, Netflix is reaching out to broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney’s ESPN, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Paramount Global’s CBS Sports. But the streaming service is having no luck.
The story goes on to say that Disney won’t produce the games because it already has college football obligations. Fox and CBS Sports may be drawn thin because of their regular weekly NFL duties.
Also, CNBC goes on to state, “There may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix … because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.”
The NFL can get out of its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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