Post-Gazette sports columnist Paul Zeise reacts to the day in Pittsburgh sports news LIVE around 5 p.m. Eastern from Oakmont Country Club ahead of the U.S. Open.

He reacts to the arrival of Aaron Rodgers at Steelers minicamp. How did the veteran QB look? What should we make of his introductory comments following a long pursuit by coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan? And how will he mesh with OC Arthur Smith’s offense and targets including DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth and Calvin Austin III?

Paul also offers thoughts on T.J. Watt’s absence from the mandatory practices. Does it signal real trouble with contract negotiations? Or could it just be posturing? And what impact could it have on the defense’s efforts to redeem itself from last year’s playoff embarrassment vs. Baltimore?

Then later, Paul gives his thoughts on what he’s seeing at Oakmont, where top golfers including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose are gathering to challenge the famed course.

good good afternoon uh good afternoon it’s paul z it is the big show thank you for joining the big show as always we do the big show uh on every single day about five o’clock we try and bring in um all the topics that are from the day of course today the big one even though well as you notice i’m in a different location here it’s because i am in uh uh at oakmont uh for the us open however however that’s not the biggest story of the day i mean obviously nationally i guess and actually all around the world the us open might be the biggest but the biggest story today uh here in pittsburgh is aaron rogers uh finally met with a media it was at mini camp uh i’m sure that he was uh unbelievably good uh throwing the football and he finally met with the media to discuss uh all of the stuff that has gone on over the last couple of months now that being said um i found a couple of things to be very interesting in what he said uh first one and i think that you know the the one that probably a lot of us uh would are interested in or whatever would be the fact that the reason he signed the number one reason he signed with the steelers and this you know this is going to have a lot of people talking to themselves and they’ll be upset about this the number one reason that he talked uh he signed with the steelers is mike tomlin mike tomlin is the reason that he sp that he uh signed with the steelers primarily because you know he’s a i’ve been a fan of his for a long time there are a few iconic franchises in the nfl i played for one of them for 18 years this is another one of those uh and uh he basically got married this year spoke with a lot of teams but he really liked you know tomlin’s honesty sort of his straightforward approach um and basically said that he was sold 100% really sold on the idea of playing for the steelers mostly because tomlin was very very very honest also that him and omar khan and and even art rooney basically all said “hey we’re going to do everything in our power uh to make this work for you.” and so take your time or whatever and and then we’re going to go from there and we’ll see what happens so to me i just think that when you look at it all in its entirety the approach of the steelers is really the reason why aaron rogers is here you know it’s not just about mike talma it’s the approach of the entire steelers organization everyone from top to bottom and he basically said “hey here it is.” um you know and and of course the question was asked why did it take you so long and this is basically what he you know has said all along but he basically said “hey it’s taken so long because i’ve had some things in my personal life i’ve had to deal with.” i think one of the things that’s pretty uh pretty pretty interesting is that he did get married and i don’t remember like a big grand announcement if i’m if i’m not mistaken i think honestly i think that um you know i remember something to the effect of well he’s wearing a ring now or he’s doing something i forget exactly what it was but hey that’s pretty significant you know and so to me listen this is all going to either work or not work based on a couple of things won if they win nobody’s going to care about how he got here nobody’s going to care about his vaccines uh uh stance nobody’s going to care about um you know what he has done in terms of uh you know the the the the cleanses and all the weird things that he does nobody’s going to care about his appearances on pat mcafee none of that stuff will be discussed or talked about ever again if he plays well and the steelers win period um that’s just sort of the reality of it all to me at least i mean we can sit here and talk about these things as much as you want to talk about them and we will i guess but to me you know what he’s here now you know he’s gotten sort of ingrained in what is expected of him it sounds like he’s had a good meeting he had a good meeting this morning with all of his teammates it sounds like they’re all on board with him and so i feel like there’s not a whole lot more to discuss now at this point it’s nice that he’s here it’s nice that he’s there playing it’s nice that he’s you know uh you know i think it was um cam hayward said you know some nice things about him zack frasier said some nice things about him a couple of other guys they all said “hey seems like he’s pretty good.” um and it seems like he’s all you know all in he in fact told them today you know his teammates hey i’m all in with you yada yada so that’s the biggest thing so it’s one of those things that um you know today he just kind of did individual drills he didn’t do team drills but you know he’s obviously going to get involved in that but the other thing is he said that he is going to take the receivers and tight ends and work with them on his own which is just sort of why the whole story about um the whole story about him not being at ot otaas was just absolutely so stupid because there’s plenty of time for him to develop chemistry or whatever and all that other stuff and so it’s going to be interesting uh to see you know is he going to do like ben and take him to a lake somewhere and and uh you know or a vacation house somewhere and they’re going to spend a week working out all that other stuff i mean i i mean i just don’t know i just think it’s one of those things that it is really imperative to know that the bottom line is they’re going to get it done they’re going to play they’re going to have a good time they got to get it done so i feel like you know we can we can put an end to all this stuff where you say to yourself “okay he wasn’t here for otaas but who cares by the time the season comes along he was plenty of opportunities to play with the guys that he’s going to play with and you know it sounds like him and dk metaf already have a good relationship i’m sure him and fri youth will figure it out i’m sure you know the rest of the guys they’ll all figure it out i don’t i don’t worry about that now let’s talk about a bigger story tj watt not in mini camp it’s not a big story because we all know that tj watt is going to sign and the steelers are going to you know cave in and acquies to him and give him what he wants so he doesn’t really need to be a mini cam but my thing with him is i’m going to reiterate what i’ve said many times i don’t think the steelers should give in to him i don’t i think what the steelers should do really is think about trading him andor do something that actually actually they don’t do generally with guys after their first contract you know after they have their first contract if they’re into their second contract they generally don’t do it but franchise them franchise them to me that gives you two years or the at least the ability to have two years without having to get married to him for two years and i think that’s pretty significant honestly i would tell him listen you’re under contract this year we’ll see what happens and then next year i would franchise them or whatever and i would say hey guess what you you are going to have to uh play under a franchise tag because i i don’t know that you necessarily have to give him more than that honestly i don’t i don’t think you do actually and i’m not sure how it would help you to give him more than that see my thing with wad is this great player elite player hall of fame player probably but in each and every season especially the last four or five as the season wears on he gets beat up his body breaks down he’s not nearly as effective in the playoffs as he is in the regular season because he’s usually at the end of a long season where he’s had a lot of collisions and he’s a you know violent player and the result is i think he’s worn down i think he’s beat up i think he probably has had to play the last two or three injur you know uh playoff games and even the last two or three games of the season he’s usually got some sort of injuries that he can play through but they they slow him down well what’s the number that they’re talking about giving him have you seen this i think that when you look at what miles garrett got okay that’s where we’re talking he signed a five-year deal this is watt signed a five-year deal 112 million with 80 million of it guaranteed okay made him the highest played defensive player in the league now okay miles garrett got $25 million i mean $25 million is what they gave miles garrett that’s what tj watt’s going to want you know and i think when you look at it right miles garrett and dj water are very similar in age about one year apart miles garrett’s contract also is 100 i think it’s what is itund 20 uh 125 million guaranteed 123 and a half million guaranteed that’s what watt’s going to be looking for so you know if you think about it four years 160 million 40 million per year 123.5 million is guaranteed this year i mean is in in that contract well guess what if that’s the case that’s what dj wants he’s not going to want a dime less than that and quite frankly i don’t know that he should take a dime less than that because he is basically going to say i have better numbers than miles garrett in almost every category why should i take a backseat to him why should i not get paid that like that that’s the going rate that’s what i deserve again i i don’t know that i can blame him i think when you look at it from that standpoint and move it move it out move it out i’m 100% on wi with what when it comes to this is what i deserve this is what i should get this is how you should pay me all that stuff i’m not somebody that always s you know sides with the team or with the player to be honest i usually don’t side with anybody because i just feel like this is all business and so there’s usually not a right or a wrong but if you’re the steelers you’ve got to figure out is this right if you’re the steelers you’ve got to figure out is this right um you know and and and and for for you for your payroll for all of that stuff and i think that that is where you look at it and say “hey we’re the steelers we can say we’ve lost playoff games without with you we can lose them without you.” you know it’s a little flippant i get it there’s some people that don’t like it but too bad the reality is just like tj watt needs to take care of tj watt the steelers need to take care of the steelers period just like tj watt needs you know to take care of himself the steelers need to take care of the steelers and again i just don’t think that it’s really going to be a situation of where um you know you look at it and you say if they give them a four-year deal will they get anywhere close to the bang for their buck will they get anywhere close to the bang for their buck and so that is where i would tell you no they’re not going to period they’re not going to and so you know if you if if you tell me four years from now oh my goodness four years from now they’ve won a few playoff games and few division titles and all that other stuff okay maybe i don’t know it doesn’t really seem like that’s going to happen and i just don’t know that he’s good enough over the course of the next three or four years that you want to tie up that much money in him now you are going to have cam hayward coming off the payroll here shortly you’re not paying your quarterback much so you do have some flexibility but again all of their money is all on the on the defensive side of the ball outside of dk medap now who actually is getting paid but think about it in a year or two you know if brderick jones is actually becomes the guy you want him to be at left tackle that’s great except for you’re gonna have to really pay him troy font know at right tackle i mean right tackles make a little less but if he’s really good you’re going to have to pay him you know uh you have to pay zack frasier something i mean he’s there’s a lot of young guys on this team that are coming up on contracts in the next two or three years i think if you look at it by uh uh by you know those standards that’s to me i mean you got to be careful about tying up so much money in tj watt because again i think wad is a really really really elite player he’s a great player but i just don’t know that you’re going to get the bang for his the bucks out of him that you should and i also don’t know if he’s the guy you know if if he’s a quarterback or if he’s you know maybe even like a um i don’t know a left tackle maybe i think about giving him that much money but i think for his position you can probably figure out how to somewhat duplicate or replace what he does without him and do it at a much cheaper number so you know there are people that are angry that what is holding out i i i don’t i don’t care really these guys have to do it and the bottom line is this is a business so you know we sit here we talk about how well you want to be on the steelers side or you want to be on the side of the of of the player i got to be honest with you i don’t think i want to be on anybody’s side i don’t think there is a side that makes sense i just don’t both sides have to protect their own interests watt’s interest is this is probably his last chance to really really fully cash in and he wants to make sure he does the steelers interest is we’ve got to build a team that can win in the playoffs and if that means we can tie up that much money then we’ll do it but what we’re not going to do is just acquies and give in blindly until we absolutely have to um you got to think about it the steelers still have three months to get this done so it’s going to get done and you know it is what it is watt’s frustrated because he wants it done now i get it because the minute it’s done let’s face it miles garrett got 123 and a half million guaranteed right so it’s going to probably be 125 $126 million guaranteed for what honestly that’s the reality that i look at really so i just feel like it’s one of those things that it it comes with a lot of discussion but i think that tj watt there are people that get angry at me because i say i think that tj watt the steward’s best course of action would be to let him walk actually sorry trade him i would have traded him i might have seen if i could give it maybe a first round pick for him and i would have traded him before the draft but you know even after the draft someone’s willing to give me a first round pick for him next year i would trade him because the reality is if they got another first round pick for next year they would then have the draft capital necessary to move up high enough to go get one of the best you know top quarterbacks in in the draft and and and maybe it it it it cost them a hall of picks and everything else to to move up but the reality is they’ve got so many now and you know if they got one or two more they have so many now they can afford to shed a bunch of them and still have enough to build a team i just think that’s the reality uh one of the most amazing amazing stats or numbers or whatever you want to say about the steelers is that there are only two guys on the roster who have experienced winning a playoff game in a steelers uniform hayward and chris boswell that’s it and you know and watt’s been here you know this is what seven years i think he’s been in the league uh he’s been here long enough that you would think given you know who he is or who they want him to be or who they think he’s going to be and all that stuff you know you would think that you know he would have been able to lead them to at least one playoff win but guess what he hasn’t and and you know that’s no uh disrespect to him it’s just to say so has a 2468 he’s been in the league two for eight eight years this is his ninth year so it’s not like he hasn’t had opportunities to to experience a playoff win he just hasn’t done it period so i i gotta believe i got to believe honestly that the stewarters are looking at that and saying “well we’ve got a number of guys um you know that maybe can duplicate or replicate on some level what he’s doing.” i love all the you know the the quotes that come out of these holdins or hold outs you know it’s like media guys don’t or haven’t figured out or don’t remember or whatever that these things almost never result in anything but the player signing you know terrell austin blah blah blah you know he says “we’re going to keep preparing and moving ahead expecting to be here he’ll get caught up no worries it’s opportunity for young guys to get more reps you know nick hervig says uh you know uh myself and the team benefit more when he’s here i’m ecstatic to be running with the ones but i prepare every day to be a starter whether it’s today yada yada yada it’s the same kind of stuff that’s said all the time as i always say you know what it’s a lot of manufactured drama people say “what do you mean?” i say this if the steelers were going to play a game on saturday do you really believe that tj watt would still be holding out that’s the these offseason hold outs are silly but we fall for them hook line and sinker every time and i’m not sure why but every time we fall for them hook line and sinker tj watt is out he’s this oh boy okay okay he’s out but i don’t know he’s not out really he’s not missing anything he could miss it you know most of training camp who cares he’s been in the league eight years he knows the steelers defense he’s a maniacal guy when it comes to working out and training and all that stuff he’s got to be in shape who cares if the steelers had to play tomorrow or play saturday he’d be here so it’s a good storyline but again the biggest thing is going to be how are the steelers going to uh how are they going to resolve it i think we all know how they’re going to resolve it i think we all know how they’re going to resolve it and that is they’re going to give him his money and move on maybe they’re trying to save a few bucks maybe maybe they’re trying to save a few bucks and see if they can get him for a little bit less than what miles garrett but he wouldn’t be holding on if he was if he didn’t want to be the highest paid guy and i don’t care how much i don’t care how much you love tj watt and how much he loves being here and all that other good stuff when it comes to the money it’s all about the money there’s no hometown discount gonna be given you know so if the steelers are hoping for one they’re not going to get one but to me i just don’t think that i would really want to go there when it comes to tj watt i said it before i think the the most uh the best course of action would be to trade him the second best would be to give him his um you know to give him a franchise tag and make it so that he is uh you know basically essentially you’re paying him what you know what he’s already going to make this year because he’s on the last year of his contract plus one more year and that’s it you’re not tied to him long term you’re not tied to him for $120 or $130 million or whatever it’s going to be you’re not tied to him but other than to say this year or next year you’re going to be with us and then we’ll see where after 10 seasons we’ll see where you’re at because ultimately you know if you get to the end of the you know 10 seasons and he still looks like he can really play you know you probably you could negotiate like a two-year deal with him or whatever like you did with cam award i just don’t think that you have to do something right now i just don’t i don’t think that you have to go get something done so to me it’s going to be very very interesting uh to see you know what it looks like at the end but don’t be surprised when he comes in really um i just think that you know what he’s going to get signed and when he gets signed he’ll come in and he’ll basically say “i’ve always wanted to be here now i’m going to finish my career here everyone will be happy.” of course it’s funny people were really all been out of shape because aaron rogers who wasn’t under contract right wasn’t under contract and missed voluntary workouts they’re more upset by rogers missing voluntary workouts when he wasn’t under contract than watt missing mandatory uh workouts when he is under contract that’s just what i would tell you um i’m at the us open i’ll be here all week next week tomorrow we’ll get a lot more into the golf uh you know today was a practice day got to hear from a couple of the guys like uh brooks keepka and uh bryson dashambo and uh scotty shoffler cornhora you know oakmont is oakmont and one of the things that you know makes oakmont oakmont is that it’s a really really difficult golf course even for these guys and if you listen to all these guys talk the number one uh basically say the number one thing that’s out there um the rough is absurd in fact i think what scotty jeffler said there’s one place on the golf course on the par fours where if you get in the rough you have a chance to get actually to the green and you know what that is the right rough on number one the rest of it if you get to if you get into the rough even these guys who are the best in the world guess what you’re probably gonna have to lay up you know he’s like basically you’re going to take a wedge or maybe a seven iron if you got a decent line just try and pop it out of there back to the fairway because that’s all you can do i think it is one of those things where it is uh uh um you know it’s going to be a frustrating week there’s a a lot of discussion about what’s going to be the winning score i won’t shock me if we’re talking about like plus one or plus two or even right around even winning this thing it’s just going to be really really difficult uh i think uh for guys to go low in this of course there’s always one that breaks out of the field and you know seems to be able to do uh some things on like one of the days and then can play even the other couple of days and the next thing you know it’s like oh wow this dude is four under u but i don’t think that’s going to be the case this week game’s always on at archie’s get down to archie’s archie’s on carson archie’s home of 87 wings monday through thursday home of the paul’s ice grilled cheese sandwich get down to argies and when you get there tell archie i said hello uh until tomorrow enjoy yourself it is the big show on paul’s ice [Music] thank you for checking out this content from postgazette sports if you watch this video on youtube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all of the sports coverage that post gazette has to offer visit post-gazette.com [Music]

7 Comments

  1. PZBS@Oakmont❤, A.R. married QB💍, the fans are ones being "sold", 7-10🏈, Bucs lose, Tee it up Paul !⛳️..
    Luvda Big S h o w🎉🦈

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