10-06-2018, 03:18 PM
Vance McDonald arrived in Pittsburgh on the eve of the 2017 regular season Womens Jared Goff Jersey , far too late to have any say in his locker assignment.
And the tight end hardly complained about being placed at the end of a long row of offensive linemen.
Still, he made a request going into 2018. He wanted to move. More specifically, he wanted to move to a locker right next to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"I like Ben, Ben likes me," McDonald said Thursday. "It's kind of hard to communicate. I'm not going to exactly go out of my way to talk to someone. So a lot of back and forth chit-chat happens casually in the locker room and vicinity and I wanted to be next to him."
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the locker room is the only place where McDonald and Roethlisberger have been side by side. McDonald missed almost all of training camp while dealing with an undisclosed foot injury.
He finally returned to practice this week only to spend Wednesday and Thursday catching passes from backup quarterback Josh Dobbs while Roethlisberger gives his aching right elbow a rest.
"I keep teasing him, just about the time we get Vance back practicing, all the guys back practicing, Ben's not practicing," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "There's not been one day since fall camp ... that we have practiced as a full unit. That isn't an excuse. It's never going to be an excuse."
Instead, it's been a frustrating reality Jake Guentzel Jersey Kids , particularly for McDonald. The Steelers acquired him from San Francisco at the end of training camp in 2017 enamored with both his size (6-foot-4, 267 pounds) and his speed.
It didn't take McDonald long to showcase the latter. Pittsburgh visited Chicago in Week 3 last fall when McDonald chased down Bears defensive back Marcus Cooper on the final play of the first half after Cooper blocked a Chris Boswell field goal.
McDonald knocked the ball loose just before Cooper crossed the goal line for a touchdown. The Steelers ended up losing in overtime, but McDonald's hustle play made an immediate impression.
The trouble is, McDonald struggled to build on it. The list of issues that limited him to six games and 14 receptions in the regular season included a bruised knee, a sprained ankle and a shoulder problem. Still, he finished with a flourish, posting career highs in catches (10) and yards receiving (112) during a playoff loss to Jacksonville.
The Steelers hope it is a sign of things to come at a position that's been steady but not spectacular since Heath Miller's retirement in February 2016.
Ladarius Green lasted just one season before being released in the spring of 2017 after dealing with ankle surgery and the lingering effects of a concussion. Jesse James continues to evolve from a fifth-round pick into a regular contributor, but isn't considered a downfield threat.
That's not a problem for McDonald, who averages a healthy 13.5 yards per reception.
"He's got explosion at the position, he's got playmaker ability, no doubt Youth Jaden Schwartz Jersey ," Fichtner said.
Getting that explosiveness onto the field consistently has proven tough. He left practice on July 29 with a foot injury, forcing him to stand on the sideline and watch while trying to absorb the transition from former offensive coordinator Todd Haley to Fichtner. McDonald admits he could feel his muscles twitching while watching the tight ends go on without him.
"You're going through those muscle patterns just to get the reps because you can't do it physically," he said. "It's huge, it's key."
How much McDonald plays against the Chiefs is uncertain. He hasn't taken a hit from an opposing player in nine months and he's cautious about doing too much too soon. He's also aware, however, that the Steelers need another threat to take some of the pressure off wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, particularly with running back Le'Veon Bell 鈥?the NFL's 10th-leading receiver in 2017 鈥?still away from the team waiting to sign his one-year franchise tender.
"We all know AB is a great player, established and JuJu is a rising up and comer he's going to continue to develop," McDonald said. "So it's whatever you can do to help the offense roll."
NOTES: In addition to Roethlisberger, RG David DeCastro (fractured right hand) and CB Joe Haden (hamstring) also did not practice. ... DT Tyson Alualu (shoulder) was limited. ... DE Cam Heyward (knee), who missed practice on Wednesday Womens Victor Rask Jersey , was a full participant.
A New Jersey memorabilia dealer who claims New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning conspired with the team's equipment staff to sell bogus "game-used" helmets to unsuspecting collectors as part of a long-running scam could get a chance to make his case in court next month.
A jury in New Jersey is scheduled to be selected May 14.
Attorneys for the two-time Super Bowl champion have attacked the allegations in Eric Inselberg's lawsuit as "inflammatory and baseless," and have accused Inselberg's attorneys of using underhanded tactics to whip up a media frenzy against their client.
The lawsuit has encompassed four years, two courts and thousands of pages of documents, and has featured more than a little acrimony between the two sides as one of the NFL's oldest and most-revered franchises has had to defend allegations that conjure up the seamy side of the sports memorabilia business.
Attorneys representing Inselberg, Manning, the team and an equipment manager named in the suit didn't respond to requests for comment last week.
Inselberg filed the suit in 2014 and accused Manning and the team of doctoring jerseys, helmets and other equipment to make it look as though they had been used during play. He was among a group of memorabilia dealers accused of selling counterfeit jerseys following an FBI sting.
Though the case against Inselberg eventually was dropped, he said in court papers that he wanted the Giants to be held accountable for the lies that led to his indictment and ruined his business.
The dispute boiled over in April 2017 when Inselberg's attorneys filed court documents that contained emails between Manning and equipment manager Joseph Skiba, including one in which Manning asks Skiba to get "2 helmets that can pass as game used."
In the furor after the emails became public, Manning, who is known for his even-tempered demeanor Nico Hischier Jersey , angrily denounced the allegations, saying, "I have done nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide, and I know when this is done everyone will see it the same way."
Manning didn't return a message left with a spokesperson last week.
In a request to the judge to impose sanctions on Inselberg's attorneys, Manning's attorneys wrote that the emails were provided during the normal exchange of information that occurs in all civil cases and were labeled confidential.
They also argued the emails showed Manning carrying out the terms of his personal services contract with Steiner Sports, under which he provided them with two game-used helmets and two game-used jerseys after each season.
The email in question "was intended by Mr. Manning to be a request for his game-used helmets that were in the possession of the Giants' equipment staff, consistent with Mr. Manning's intentions and practices for other years as corroborated by the other email exchanges," they wrote.
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And the tight end hardly complained about being placed at the end of a long row of offensive linemen.
Still, he made a request going into 2018. He wanted to move. More specifically, he wanted to move to a locker right next to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"I like Ben, Ben likes me," McDonald said Thursday. "It's kind of hard to communicate. I'm not going to exactly go out of my way to talk to someone. So a lot of back and forth chit-chat happens casually in the locker room and vicinity and I wanted to be next to him."
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the locker room is the only place where McDonald and Roethlisberger have been side by side. McDonald missed almost all of training camp while dealing with an undisclosed foot injury.
He finally returned to practice this week only to spend Wednesday and Thursday catching passes from backup quarterback Josh Dobbs while Roethlisberger gives his aching right elbow a rest.
"I keep teasing him, just about the time we get Vance back practicing, all the guys back practicing, Ben's not practicing," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "There's not been one day since fall camp ... that we have practiced as a full unit. That isn't an excuse. It's never going to be an excuse."
Instead, it's been a frustrating reality Jake Guentzel Jersey Kids , particularly for McDonald. The Steelers acquired him from San Francisco at the end of training camp in 2017 enamored with both his size (6-foot-4, 267 pounds) and his speed.
It didn't take McDonald long to showcase the latter. Pittsburgh visited Chicago in Week 3 last fall when McDonald chased down Bears defensive back Marcus Cooper on the final play of the first half after Cooper blocked a Chris Boswell field goal.
McDonald knocked the ball loose just before Cooper crossed the goal line for a touchdown. The Steelers ended up losing in overtime, but McDonald's hustle play made an immediate impression.
The trouble is, McDonald struggled to build on it. The list of issues that limited him to six games and 14 receptions in the regular season included a bruised knee, a sprained ankle and a shoulder problem. Still, he finished with a flourish, posting career highs in catches (10) and yards receiving (112) during a playoff loss to Jacksonville.
The Steelers hope it is a sign of things to come at a position that's been steady but not spectacular since Heath Miller's retirement in February 2016.
Ladarius Green lasted just one season before being released in the spring of 2017 after dealing with ankle surgery and the lingering effects of a concussion. Jesse James continues to evolve from a fifth-round pick into a regular contributor, but isn't considered a downfield threat.
That's not a problem for McDonald, who averages a healthy 13.5 yards per reception.
"He's got explosion at the position, he's got playmaker ability, no doubt Youth Jaden Schwartz Jersey ," Fichtner said.
Getting that explosiveness onto the field consistently has proven tough. He left practice on July 29 with a foot injury, forcing him to stand on the sideline and watch while trying to absorb the transition from former offensive coordinator Todd Haley to Fichtner. McDonald admits he could feel his muscles twitching while watching the tight ends go on without him.
"You're going through those muscle patterns just to get the reps because you can't do it physically," he said. "It's huge, it's key."
How much McDonald plays against the Chiefs is uncertain. He hasn't taken a hit from an opposing player in nine months and he's cautious about doing too much too soon. He's also aware, however, that the Steelers need another threat to take some of the pressure off wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, particularly with running back Le'Veon Bell 鈥?the NFL's 10th-leading receiver in 2017 鈥?still away from the team waiting to sign his one-year franchise tender.
"We all know AB is a great player, established and JuJu is a rising up and comer he's going to continue to develop," McDonald said. "So it's whatever you can do to help the offense roll."
NOTES: In addition to Roethlisberger, RG David DeCastro (fractured right hand) and CB Joe Haden (hamstring) also did not practice. ... DT Tyson Alualu (shoulder) was limited. ... DE Cam Heyward (knee), who missed practice on Wednesday Womens Victor Rask Jersey , was a full participant.
A New Jersey memorabilia dealer who claims New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning conspired with the team's equipment staff to sell bogus "game-used" helmets to unsuspecting collectors as part of a long-running scam could get a chance to make his case in court next month.
A jury in New Jersey is scheduled to be selected May 14.
Attorneys for the two-time Super Bowl champion have attacked the allegations in Eric Inselberg's lawsuit as "inflammatory and baseless," and have accused Inselberg's attorneys of using underhanded tactics to whip up a media frenzy against their client.
The lawsuit has encompassed four years, two courts and thousands of pages of documents, and has featured more than a little acrimony between the two sides as one of the NFL's oldest and most-revered franchises has had to defend allegations that conjure up the seamy side of the sports memorabilia business.
Attorneys representing Inselberg, Manning, the team and an equipment manager named in the suit didn't respond to requests for comment last week.
Inselberg filed the suit in 2014 and accused Manning and the team of doctoring jerseys, helmets and other equipment to make it look as though they had been used during play. He was among a group of memorabilia dealers accused of selling counterfeit jerseys following an FBI sting.
Though the case against Inselberg eventually was dropped, he said in court papers that he wanted the Giants to be held accountable for the lies that led to his indictment and ruined his business.
The dispute boiled over in April 2017 when Inselberg's attorneys filed court documents that contained emails between Manning and equipment manager Joseph Skiba, including one in which Manning asks Skiba to get "2 helmets that can pass as game used."
In the furor after the emails became public, Manning, who is known for his even-tempered demeanor Nico Hischier Jersey , angrily denounced the allegations, saying, "I have done nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide, and I know when this is done everyone will see it the same way."
Manning didn't return a message left with a spokesperson last week.
In a request to the judge to impose sanctions on Inselberg's attorneys, Manning's attorneys wrote that the emails were provided during the normal exchange of information that occurs in all civil cases and were labeled confidential.
They also argued the emails showed Manning carrying out the terms of his personal services contract with Steiner Sports, under which he provided them with two game-used helmets and two game-used jerseys after each season.
The email in question "was intended by Mr. Manning to be a request for his game-used helmets that were in the possession of the Giants' equipment staff, consistent with Mr. Manning's intentions and practices for other years as corroborated by the other email exchanges," they wrote.
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