Steelers Daily Links: Patriots Sign Ezekiel Elliott, Ex-Raven Michael Oher Sues

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Aug 19, 2023

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1691192209259765760″>tweeted

that he’s signing with the New England Patriots. https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1691194867295100928″>According

to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Elliott will sign a one-year deal with the Patriots that includes a $3 million base salary, and a $1 million signing bonus, which can be worth up to $6 million with incentives. Elliott rushed for 8.262 yards and 68 touchdowns in his seven seasons in Dallas. The Pittsburgh Steelers play the Patriots in Week 14 on Thursday Night Football at Acrisure Stadium.

? Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk compared Steelers second-year wide receiver George Pickens to Chase Claypool, questioning if he’ll be wasted in the Steelers’ offense.

“With Claypool, we have to start asking, do they know how to use, do they know how to develop, do they know how to cultivate a talent like that, or is it wasted in the Pittsburgh offense,” Florio asked. “That’s why it’s more of a pressing question with Pickens.”

? ESPN: Former Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher, whose supposed adoption out of poverty was immortalized in the 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” petitioned a Tennessee court Monday with allegations that the story was a lie concocted by the family to enrich themselves. The 14-page petition, filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court, alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who took Oher into their home as a high school student, never adopted him. Instead, less than three months after Oher turned 18 in 2004, the petition says, the couple tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name.

? ESPN: Alex Collins, the former Arkansas running back who went on to play five seasons in the NFL, died after he was involved in a motorcycle crash in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, on Sunday night, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. He was 28.

Collins crashed into a sport-utility vehicle on West Oakland Park Boulevard, according to the news release. The SUV was making a left turn when Collins’ motorcycle hit its rear passenger side, causing him to go through a window and come to rest inside the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is under investigation.

? San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will be https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1691361112082595840″>able

to participate in three practices in a row this week without a built-in off-day, the latest step in his recovery from offseason elbow surgery. The Steelers face the 49ers in Week 1 at Acrisure Stadium.

? Happy Birthday to former Steelers quarterback Bubby Brister, born on August 15, 1962 in Alexandria, Louisiana. Brister played for the Steelers for seven years (1986-92), several of them as the regular starter at quarterback. In 1992, new Steelers head coach Bill Cowher chose backup quarterback Neil O’Donnell over Brister, effectively ending his career as a starting player for the Steelers.

One of Brister’s most famous quotes came after a 1991 game against the Houston Oilers. Pittsburgh was getting blown out in the game and head coach Chuck Noll wanted to pull starter O’Donnell and replace him with Brister to finish the hopeless game. Brister replied “I don’t mop up for anybody.” O’Donnell was starting in place of an injured Brister.

Even though Brister was not forced to enter that late-season loss against Houston, he did supplant the struggling O’Donnell the next week, starting the team’s final two games, both wins over Cincinnati and Cleveland. Following his time in Pittsburgh, Brister played for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos as a backup quarterback in 1997 and 1998. He finished his career playing for the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs.

Also, Happy Birthday to former Steelers wide receiver Yancey Thigpen, born on August 15, 1969 in Tarboro, North Carolina. During his time with the Steelers (1992-1997), Thigpen recorded 222 receptions for 3,651 yards (16.4 average) and 21 touchdowns.

? Steelers defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal and rookie Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Cody Mauch had an intense battle on Friday night.