Kovacevic: Truth on JuJu's free agency, trading for Staal, Pirates' choice

No, JuJu Smith-Schuster wasn't lying about other teams discussing offers with his agent.

But no, JuJu's foray into free agency didn't unfold anything at all like he'd hoped, strongly influencing -- if not forcing -- his return to the Steelers on a one-year, $8 million contract.

Why did it unfold as it did?

An NFL source with direct knowledge of JuJu's situation told me Tuesday that there was mild but legit interest in JuJu on the open market and, hence, the very real, if likely exaggerated dialogue between his agent and the Chiefs and Ravens. But the source added that there was one reason talks didn't go far with those teams or anyone else, and it's simple: He isn't healthy.

Per the source, the knee injury that'd nagged JuJu throughout the season flared up in the later part of the schedule, causing him to miss practices -- he sat out two in the week leading up to the playoff game against the Browns -- and causing him to have that knee drained of fluid frequently to allow him to compete in games. Most often, that draining would occur on Fridays of game weeks.

There are few secrets in NFL circles, especially not where eight-figure and nine-figure contracts are concerned, and this one made its way around, the source added. Other teams' executives felt JuJu wasn't performing at his peak throughout the 2020 schedule, emphasizing a lack of the explosiveness he'd exhibited as a rookie when routinely pulling away from defenders on splash plays. This past season, he averaged only 8.6 yards on a team-high 96 catches.

So, what now?

JuJu's on a prove-my-worth contract term, obviously, and he'll have ample motivation to excel. There's been no indication to date he'll have surgery on the knee to address the fluid, the source added, but that could change if he and/or the Steelers' medical staff feel it'll help him get closer to 100% in 2021. And in turn, by staying in Pittsburgh, he benefits by staying another year with doctors, athletic trainers and, yes, coaches that he already knows and can trust to do right by him, his health and his longer-term future.

Meanwhile, the Steelers get a good wide receiver back at a rate far below what he'd receive if fully healthy, with a reasonable chance that he will be fully healthy once football starts.

It all makes a little more sense now, right?

• Ideally, everything works out for both parties. Because if JuJu ever did regain his rookie form, he'd be worth every penny of a No. 1 wide receiver's pay, and the Steelers would appear to be more than amenable to offering that within that context.

In this moment, though, I still can't help but be far more moved by the devastation of the NFL's most dynamic defense. I get keeping Zach Banner and bringing back B.J. Finney, in that there's no point having Ben Roethlisberger here without proper protection. But every other penny that gets put into that offense this offseason is a penny that would've been better spent in preserving that defense.

• Actually, even just within the context of the offense, the priority is misplaced. Keeping Ben healthy is always No. 1, and adding a center with starting pedigree -- Finney's a career part-timer at the position -- should've taken precedent over bringing back one of four starting wide receivers, no matter how highly anyone would rank JuJu on that particular depth chart.

• Precisely 42 minutes elapsed between these two tweets:

That's no coincidence. Management had already done Steven Nelson a favor by granting his agent permission to try to work out a trade to a a team of his liking. There's nothing that compels them to take any such action and, in fact, it's arguably not a great way to do business. And then Nelson comes back with being a "hostage" when he can't find a single taker for his $8.25 million cap hit?

Oh, man, I'd love to have the raw video of Kevin Colbert and/or Mike Tomlin after hearing of Nelson's tweet. I can just picture media relations guru Burt Lauten typing up that press release with both men peering over his shoulder and saying, 'Faster, Burt! Faster!'

• That said, Nelson's departure undeniably digs the defense an even deeper hole. Justin Layne might be ready to take over -- he should be as a third-rounder -- but he also might not be. And he'll be plenty busy over there, as opponents will pick on him endlessly over Joe Haden on one side and two terrific safeties over the middle.

• The team now isn't the team the Steelers will have by kickoff. That's as close to positive as I can come at this stage of the offseason, but it's also true. It'd just better be one heck of a first-year haul coming out of that draft. Because even with $10 million now available in cap space, $7 million of that's got to be set aside for the rookie class. There's still so little room for anyone else.

• Running back in the first round. That stance won't change. I just don't see the position as one that can be filled any other way in this setting. The same can't be spoken of the other holes, including the newest.

EVAN SCHALL / PENGUINS

Newcomer Radim Zohorna practices with the Penguins Tuesday in Cranberry.

• There's no losing to the Sabres.

I'm often guilty myself of lumping the Sabres and Devils together, and that's a mistake. Buffalo's the worst team in the NHL by the length of I-90: Six bleeping wins in 30 games. Dead last in scoring. Dead last in visible motivation. And now, the only player on the Sabres' roster who'd even registered a pulse in the two meetings with the Penguins up there last week, goaltender Carter Hutton, will miss the games here tonight and tomorrow to injury.

Losing to these guys will not be akin to taking only three points in three games from the Devils just now. It'll be infinitely worse.

• When the Sabres miss the playoffs, it'll be the 10th year in a row, tying an NHL record. The Oilers did that in 2007-16, the Panthers in 2001-11.

It's almost inconceivable that this can occur in a salary cap system, especially when this Buffalo team went out and bought up real talent like Taylor Hall, but it speaks so very loudly to the importance of smart management and creating a winning culture. As it is, the Sabres' situation has been so bad for so long that I wonder if even a friendly bounce of the Connor McDavid ping-pong ball would've made a difference.

• That said, I'd pluck Eric Staal off their roster in a heartbeat. And I'd consider parting with Marcus Pettersson to pull it off, but only if Buffalo absorbed a sizable chunk of Staal's $3.25 million salary. He's certainly available.

Why create a fourth line when you can have a third line, right?

Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev make for a dream fourth line, capable of providing punch and production. So respectfully slide then down a notch -- hey, the Islanders have done it forever with the Casey Cizikas line, which is hardly their worst -- and try to put together a two-way threat of a third line. Jared McCann or Jason Zucker on the left. Maybe Anthony Angello on the right if he keeps showing promise. And with Staal in the middle, there's a big-bodied, still-skilled, leader-type presence.

Without remotely mortgaging the future, I might add. Pettersson's young, but Pierre-Olivier Joseph's more than ready to replace him, possibly as an upgrade.

• Except for Joseph's debut, my excitement/anticipation level at seeing any Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player promoted to the Penguins' roster this winter has been zero, and it'll remain that way tonight if the latest newcomer, Radim Zohorna, suits up. The system's just barren beyond belief.

• McDavid's the best player on the planet by such a margin that it's beyond debate. Take that from someone who's long hesitated to say that, first out of respect for Sidney Crosby's ongoing status, then because Nate MacKinnon really rose up in Denver. But what we're witnessing now from McDavid -- 60 points in 34 games, including six game-winning goals out of his 21 total -- is 10 more points than Edmonton teammate Leon Draisaitl, and 16 more than anyone else.

That's ... scary. That's ascending to a level that only a handful of athletes have ever known in this great sport, when coupled with his consistent excellence.

Yeah, he'll need to hoist the Cup a time or two to get into an all-time top handful stratosphere, but he'll do that. Might not be where he's currently employed, but he'll win a championship someday somewhere. Those types almost always do.

• MacKinnon should win his first Cup this summer. My goodness, the Avs have it all, especially now that Philipp Grubauer's emerged with a 1.71 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. What a hockey team.

• The NHL smartly adjusted its draft lottery system yesterday, making it harder for truly needy teams to get hosed the way the Red Wings did last year when they fell out of the No. 1 spot way down to No. 4. Which meant not only that they couldn't select the consensus top prospect in Alexis Lafreniere but also that they'd have no shot at Tim Stutzle, who's been a far better performer in Ottawa than Lafreniere's been in New York.

I'm not a fan of draft lotteries in general, and I applaud the NFL and Major League Baseball for steering clear of the concept. If anyone wants to tank, especially amid the gross economic imbalance in baseball, let 'em tank. To me, most teams that'd deliberately tank are simultaneously sending a signal that they're aiming for a championship at some point by acquiring a truly elite talent.

And on that note ...

• Ben Cherington's facing what'll be one of the most momentous decisions of his career -- never mind his brief time with the Pirates -- when he picks between Vanderbilt's two spectacular pitching prospects, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, with the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft this July.

I mean, look at that up there. Wow.

And to watch either of them actually pitch, the wows only multiply.

All I'll say for now: There's four months before anyone's mind has to be made up. And a lot of baseball to be played by both of those pitchers and anyone else who might miraculously rise up alongside either one. There's no rush for Cherington, no rush for any of us to pick a side.

It's OK to just enjoy admiring both from afar and, within that, hey, a little daydreaming that baseball allowed teams to trade for picks so the Pirates could magically acquire both isn't such a bad thing, is it?

• The Pirates are 11-10-1, have won three in a row in Grapefruit ball and, man, it hurts to even type a single sentence with that information. That's how irrelevant it is. And all spring results are, good or bad.

But here's what does matter: They're hitting really well, in particular some of the players most important to the franchise's future.

Kevin Newman's batting an absolutely insane .700 -- 14 for 20 with three doubles -- and he's still being outdone by Adam Frazier, who's at .586 but with a home run yesterday, as well as four doubles and two triples. Ke'Bryan Hayes is at .436 with a home run, six doubles, two triples and mind-blowing singles ...

... as if he still needs to be woken up when last September ends. Bryan Reynolds is at .265 with three home runs. Colin Moran, Erik Gonzalez, Anthony Alford, even Gregory Polanco are all hitting well.

I'm not suggesting it'll carry over. Once they take to Wrigley Field on the afternoon of April 1, they'll do so with matching .000 averages. And with 2020 looming as the painful precedent, skepticism will be well-founded. I know I'll be big-time skeptical, even if they start the regular season similarly. 

But it's something. And it sure beats the alternative.

• Same applies for the pitching: Mitch Keller's having a rotten spring -- 16 runs and 22 hits in 8 1/3 innings! -- but he's got no meaningful company in that regard. Almost everyone else, even the prospects, have ranged from good to very good to David Bednar, the Mars kid who's fanned 14, walked one and allowed no runs and two hits over his eight relief appearances. 

Put it another way: The team's total spring ERA is 4.50, which is 13th-best in all of baseball. And the ERA if removing Keller's figures is 3.91, which would be fifth-best in all of baseball. And this despite having a home field in Bradenton that's hardly pitcher-friendly.

To be honest, I'm far more encouraged by the pitching than the hitting.

• I really, really hate exemption stats. Just feel the need to amend that. This pitching staff's nothing without Keller. As I wrote from Bradenton a couple weeks back, he's the single most pivotal -- and I'm applying the term literally -- player on the team. How he goes is how this season will go.

• While I was down there, I had people inside the team telling me they felt very good about the return in the Jameson Taillon trade with the Yankees, and it's now plain to see why. Miguel Yajure's got the best offspeed stuff at any level of the organization, and Roansy Contreras throws 100 mph with swag. It'll take time to see for sure, as neither will make the opening day roster, but both look like they'll be worth the wait.

• This is not going to be a good team in 2021. Stop that at once. Seriously, just stop.

The goal is progress. But that progress shouldn't just be something incremental over a catastrophe, which is what 2020 was. It's got to come with some oomph.

• If everyone will pardon me now, I'm about to fire a bucket of pucks at Carter Hart in a brazen attempt to falsely build up some self-esteem.