First Call: Antonio Brown to 49ers? See NFL covid-19 helmet idea. Praise for Steelers defense - TribLIVE

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Friday’s “First Call” features yet another potential destination for Antonio Brown. High praise for Steelers stars Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt. Plus the mock-ups of the NFL’s covid-19 helmets are…

…well….

Let’s just say we provided a photo.

Have a nice weekend.

A.B. to S.F.?

Thursday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers learned that receiver Deebo Samuel broke his foot.

The NFL Network originally reported that Samuel could be out 12-16 weeks.

But Samuel said that he’ll only be out 10 weeks. The regular season doesn’t start for 12 weeks.

This variance shouldn’t be a surprise. Foot injuries can be tricky. Especially for wide receivers. Keep in mind, the team also lost Emmanuel Sanders to the New Orleans Saints in free agency.

So should the franchise call free agent Antonio Brown? Radio.com NFL Insider Brian Baldinger told 95.7 The Game in San Francisco that idea may be worth “a phone call.”

“Just have a conversation,” Baldinger said. “See where he is mentally. I don’t know where the league is (on a possible suspensions), and what that does to him. But I’d make the phone call. He was the league’s best receiver before he collapsed and fell out of favor.”

Hey, why not!? Things went great across the bay in Oakland, right?

Corona-contraption

There has been some talk that the NFL may try to come up with some new-look helmets. The goal would be to slow the spread of covid-19.

The Stadium Network came up with a potential Chicago Bears-style mock-up.

NFL players might sport #COVID19 helmets this fall … What do you think? pic.twitter.com/XXqvNDPU7N

— Stadium (@Stadium) June 17, 2020

This is not a football helmet.

This looks like what would happen if the Power Rangers met Rex Smith from “Street Hawk” for a game of paintball.

Sorry. That was probably the greatest anachronistic marriage of dated references of all time.

Nonetheless, it’s strange lookin’.

Although, I do see how it is safer. Not necessarily from the spread of coronavirus. But there’s no facemask.

So there’s nothing for Myles Garrett to grab.

Since I brought it up

Helmet rage aside, the Browns would like to keep Garrett in Cleveland.

Cleveland’s Vice President of Player Personnel Glenn Cook wants to lock up the pass rusher for as long as possible.

But he’s not getting too committed.

“Myles is a really good player,” Cook said via Browns Wire. “Personally, I would love to have him for as long as we can. Those are decisions that (general manager) Andrew (Berry), (Vice President of Football Operations) Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah) and ownership have to make. I can’t give you an update. I think Andrew will be the better person to speak on that, but I can tell you, as you probably know, we are really excited to have him on our team and hopefully, have him for a long time.”

The former No. 1 overall pick has two years left on his rookie deal.

High praise

NFL.com’s Gil Brandt came up with a list of 12 players that NFL teams should keep until retirement.

Two of the 12 were from the Steelers defense. One was outside linebacker T.J. Watt. The other was safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Of Watt, Brandt says, “The Steelers have accumulated the most sacks in the NFL over the past three seasons — and it’s no coincidence that dominant stretch kicked off with the first-round selection of Watt, who owns more than 20% of those sacks.”

Of Fitzpatrick, Brandt says, “With sound tackling and coverage skills, Fitzpatrick was able to provide the kind of impact play at safety that the team has sorely missed since Troy Polamalu’s heyday. It’s exciting to think how much better Fitzpatrick can be in his first full season in this defense after being forced to learn on the fly last year.”

Brandt has more on both players here.

Plus Pitt alum Aaron Donald makes the list. So does former Penn State Nittany Lion Saquon Barkley.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: NFL | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz