Starkey & Mueller

PM Team FULL Show 8-6-25

We got an update on the Will Howard injury from Mike Tomlin. It appears to be a broken finger that will have him ‘week-to-week.’ Howard has a fracture on a finger of his throwing hand, but surgery won’t be necessary. A few reports are suggesting it is his pinky finger, which is probably the one you want it to be if you had to pick. There was also a brawl at today’s practice. Juan Thornhill stoked the fires of the hype around the team’s defense. How good can they be? 93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff mentioned Derrick Harmon missing practice for a second day in a row. Jeff broke down the practice fight from earlier today. Chris asked Jeff about Harmon flying under the radar compared to 1st round picks of the past. Jeff brought up the combo of Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo on the left side and noted it has looked better for Jones since Seumalo came back to practice. Jeff said it was another solid day for Aaron Rodgers. Jeff couldn’t 100% confirm, but based on looking at his

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff mentioned Derrick Harmon missing practice for a second day in a row. Jeff broke down the practice fight from earlier today. Chris asked Jeff about Harmon flying under the radar compared to 1st round picks of the past. Jeff brought up the combo of Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo on the left side and noted it has looked better for Jones since Seumalo came back to practice. Jeff said it was another solid day for Aaron Rodgers. Jeff couldn’t 100% confirm, but based on looking at his hand, it appears to be the pinky that Will Howard broke yesterday. Jeff noted that Roman Wilson got a lot of love today from QB1.

Rodgers Replies. Rodgers was empathetic of Will Howard after it was announced that Howard will miss 3 weeks. Rodgers said that the offense has been clicking more the last 3 or 4 days. Rodgers also praised Roman Wilson a lot and called him “so talented”. He was also very complementary of Arthur Smith. Mullsy says that Rodgers sounds way more authentic and normal than Russell Wilson. ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi says that it is an unfortunate time for Will Howard to get hurt because it stunts his development. She also says that the Steelers would have wanted to see Howard in live action football. Aditi says that it would have been important for Howard to get experience calling the offense in preseason games. Donny Football Debrief – ESPN will distribute NFL Redzone on traditional television, and ESPN and NFL Fantasy will combine. NFL Network will distribute Redzone through NFL+. Mullsy says that ESPN and the NFL are one in the same.

ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi says that it is an unfortunate time for Will Howard to get hurt because it stunts his development. She also says that the Steelers would have wanted to see Howard in live action football. Aditi says that it would have been important for Howard to get experience calling the offense in preseason games.

Rodgers Replies. Rodgers was empathetic of Will Howard after it was announced that Howard will miss 3 weeks. Rodgers said that the offense has been clicking more the last 3 or 4 days. Rodgers also praised Roman Wilson a lot and called him “so talented”. He was also very complementary of Arthur Smith. Mullsy says that Rodgers sounds way more authentic and normal than Russell Wilson.

Aaron Rodgers said in his press conference that Preseason games are meaningless, and that joint practices are more useful. Would other players in different situations disagree? Mullsy says that preseason matters more to rookies than it does to a 20+ year vet like Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers says that join practices are more useful than preseason games because teams aren’t afraid to show things to teams that they will not play. Mullsy says it would be worse if a player got hurt in a joint practice than it would be if aa player got hurt in preseason. Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike says that joint practices make more sense for teams because they can avoid QBs getting hit. He also says that if they could, the NFL would get rid of preseason games and go to a 20 game season right now. Mike says that we need to see how the whole ESPN Redzone thing plays out before we can determine what it’s going to be like. ESPN bought the name “Redzone” so they can now make an NBA Redzone or a CFB Redzone.

Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike says that joint practices make more sense for teams because they can avoid QBs getting hit. He also says that if they could, the NFL would get rid of preseason games and go to a 20 game season right now. Mike says that we need to see how the whole ESPN Redzone thing plays out before we can determine what it’s going to be like. ESPN bought the name “Redzone” so they can now make an NBA Redzone or a CFB Redzone.

Aaron Rodgers said in his press conference that Preseason games are meaningless, and that joint practices are more useful. Would other players in different situations disagree? Mullsy says that preseason matters more to rookies than it does to a 20+ year vet like Aaron Rodgers.

Will Howard will miss the entire preseason, per the reports of a broken hand. It’s probably good Poni is off today. We acknowledge that it does suck for Howard because this was his big shot to show the Steelers if he had anything, even if we have to take preseason results with a grain of salt. Chris said there is no shame in being a career backup if you were chosen in the 6th round. It robs Howard of some important reps, but this should have never prohibited the Steelers from their plan in 2026. Where did Howard rank for you among guys you were excited to watch on Saturday? Does this injury take the expectations for Howard back down to earth? Poni thinks he jinxed Will Howard when he took him in Black and Gold Auction House. A commenter paid $10 to comment on Youtube that Dom should produce a double header. A caller thought he was talking to both Donny and Poni before he realized it was Mullsy. Former MLB pitcher Matt Clement joined the show. Matt says that it is frustrating for fans to have to trust Ben C

Former MLB pitcher Matt Clement joined the show. Matt says that it is frustrating for fans to have to trust Ben Cherington’s decisions on certain trade packages. The rumor was that Cherington turned down a package headlined by Eduardo Tait to take the Flores package instead. Clement mentions that Flores fits the Paul Skenes timeline and Tait does not. He also says that the numbers that Skenes has put up his first two years have never been seen before. Matt says that it would make sense for Skenes to sign a contract with the Pirates early in his career for security, and then he can go and make a ton of money elsewhere afterwards.

Will Howard will miss the entire preseason, per the reports of a broken hand. It’s probably good Poni is off today. We acknowledge that it does suck for Howard because this was his big shot to show the Steelers if he had anything, even if we have to take preseason results with a grain of salt. Chris said there is no shame in being a career backup if you were chosen in the 6th round. It robs Howard of some important reps, but this should have never prohibited the Steelers from their plan in 2026. Where did Howard rank for you among guys you were excited to watch on Saturday? Does this injury take the expectations for Howard back down to earth?

PM Team FULL Show 8-5-25

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff isn’t sure if Will Howard will play on Saturday after suffering a minor injury today in practice. He said Roman Wilson had, maybe, his best day of camp. Jeff thinks Wilson’s spot on the depth chart may be a piece of motivation from Mike Tomlin. Jeff said the offense looked fluid today with Aaron Rodgers dicing things up with some simple throws. Jeff mentioned Jack Sawyer and how he has size that doesn’t get mentioned enough. What did Jeff make of the viral video of Rodgers moving around in drills? Jeff felt good about saying it was the best day for the offense and maybe the best overall day of camp. Jeff broke down a potential punter battle brewing.

Will Howard was presumably injured in practice today. Aaron Rodgers threw a pick that was a perfect pass that hit Connor Heyward in the facemask. Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown joined the show. Greg says that he was not shocked by any of the moves the Pirates made at the trade deadline. He also says that “there’s something in there” with Jack Suwinski. Greg says that the leadership aspect of players is overrated, and he’d rather get young guys more at-bats. He says that moving Falter allowed for Oviedo to come up. Brown calls the Bednar and Hayes trades “gigantic” moves. He also says that he’d be surprised if Skenes wasn’t open to re-signing here. Greg says he 100% still believes that Bob Nutting cares about winning. Donny Football Debrief – The Browns will start Shedeur Sanders to begin the preseason. Who will be their starter for Week 7 against the Steelers? Poni thinks it will be Gabriel, and Mullsy thinks it will be Pickett. Donny thinks it will be Shedeur. Poni says if Pickett starts and beats the St

Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown joined the show. Greg says that he was not shocked by any of the moves the Pirates made at the trade deadline. He also says that “there’s something in there” with Jack Suwinski. Greg says that the leadership aspect of players is overrated, and he’d rather get young guys more at-bats. He says that moving Falter allowed for Oviedo to come up. Brown calls the Bednar and Hayes trades “gigantic” moves. He also says that he’d be surprised if Skenes wasn’t open to re-signing here. Greg says he 100% still believes that Bob Nutting cares about winning.

The Steelers depth chart is out. There were a few takeaways. One of them being the bloom being off the rose that is Roman Wilson in training camp, who is currently listed as their 5th receiver. The training camp returns on Wilson are disappointing. How much do we take this into account given how we know Mike Tomlin claims to not pay attention to his early depth charts? We are hearing people watching practice say Scotty Miller has looked noticeably better than Wilson. The guys dug into Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth being listed together as TE1. And are we in for a punter battle for the ages? Former NFL GM Michael Lombardi joined the show. The guys asked Michael about the idea of a Terry McLaurin trade and if the Steelers have a shot to make it happen. Michael talked about some major differences he’s finding between the college and pro game. Will the Steelers have success with Aaron Rodgers? He thinks arm strength is one of the most overrated attributes for a QB. Michael thinks the Steelers need to win a pla

Former NFL GM Michael Lombardi joined the show. The guys asked Michael about the idea of a Terry McLaurin trade and if the Steelers have a shot to make it happen. Michael talked about some major differences he’s finding between the college and pro game. Will the Steelers have success with Aaron Rodgers? He thinks arm strength is one of the most overrated attributes for a QB. Michael thinks the Steelers need to win a playoff game to claim success in 2025. The guys asked Michael about the Steelers change in philosophy with some flashy free agent moves. Michael listed some guys he feels like played for the Steelers that should get more Hall of Fame consideration.

The Steelers depth chart is out. There were a few takeaways. One of them being the bloom being off the rose that is Roman Wilson in training camp, who is currently listed as their 5th receiver. The training camp returns on Wilson are disappointing. How much do we take this into account given how we know Mike Tomlin claims to not pay attention to his early depth charts? We are hearing people watching practice say Scotty Miller has looked noticeably better than Wilson. The guys dug into Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth being listed together as TE1. And are we in for a punter battle for the ages?

We started with a conversation we had with Dan Zangrilli yesterday that had us thinking – will the Pirates truly try to sign Paul Skenes to an extension? Poni thinks there is actually an avenue to it happening, but Chris isn’t seeing it. It’s hard to imagine Skenes wanting to be here any longer than he has to be. If it’s a 5-year deal, will he be here for the full 5? With how baseball is now, is it logical to think Skenes would sign a deal here? GIVEAWAY. Pirates insider Noah Hiles from the PG joined the show. Noah is not getting the sense that the Pirates are pursuing an extension with Paul Skenes right now. How much do the circumstances matter? Would it be different if the Pirates were really trying to win instead of what their offseason plan was? Noah brought up the military background for Skenes. Chris wanted a tour of what happened at Coors Field on Friday night.