The players at the 2023 NFL Combine sure seem to love Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and things have gone from bad to worse in Baltimore.
? CBS Sports: Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez, who is a Steelers target at No. 17, is one of the players that gushed over Tomlin, calling him “real” and “relatable” and then called his dad to say that Tomlin is even cooler than he thought.
Mike Tomlin is winning the combine. Superstar CB Christian Gonzalez is yet another DB to say his favorite coach to talk to here has been the #Steelers head man. He called Tomlin “real” and “relatable” – and said he called his dad to say he’s even cooler than they thought.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) March 2, 2023
? Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman had some unkind words for his general manager on Thursday. Quote-tweeting a tweet from reporter Sarah Ellison that contained a quote from Eric DeCosta, Bateman lit into the Ravens front office. DeCosta was asked about the team’s lack of success in drafting wide receivers during his Wednesday media availability at the combine.
“If I had an answer, that means I would probably have some better receivers, I guess,” DeCosta said. “We keep trying. I think there’s a lot of things that go along with that position. Sometimes, it is tied to the quarterback and I think it’s tied to things like durability. It’s tied to a lot of things. We’re going to keep swinging. There have been some guys that have been successful players for us that were draft picks. We’ve never really hit on that All-Pro type of guy, which is disappointing, I would say. But it’s not for a lack of effort.”
Bateman didn’t like what his GM had to say.
“How bout you play to your player’s strength and stop pointing the finger at us and #8 (Lamar Jackson),” he wrote on Twitter. “Blame the one you let do this…. we take heat 24.7. & keep us healthy … care about US & see what happen..ain’t no promises tho … tired of y’all lying and capn on players for no reason.”
Bateman later deleted the tweet and apologized.
my apologies 🫂
— Rashod Bateman (@R_bateman2) March 2, 2023
? CBS Sports: As far as No. 8, quarterback Lamar Jackson, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports clarified that Jackson is demanding a contract with at least as much guaranteed money that DeShaun Watson got from the Cleveland Browns. Watson signed a five-year, $230 million deal last offseason.
Josina Anderson bringing clarity to vague and seemingly contradictory ESPN reportinghttps://t.co/AmlWFkDBqf
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) March 2, 2023
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AROUND THE NETWORK
Pittsburgh Sports Now: Mike Brey got the last laugh, as Notre Dame beat Pitt, 88-81 in his final game.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Ron Hextall was busy ahead of the trade deadline, shipping out Teddy Blueger and bringing in Maikel Granlund.
West Virginia Sports Now: Dante Stills talked about the draft process at the NFL Combine.
Nittany Sports Now: Penn State beat Northwestern on an overtime buzzer beater from Cam Wynter.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Oneil Cruz hit his first home run, but the Pirates were walked off by the Tigers.