Cincy Sporting News » Pittsburgh

Cueto, Janish lead first-place Reds past Pirates

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:39:11 +0000

Associated Press

Cueto is 11-2 overall with a 3.24 ERA. He’s won five straight decisions and has a 1.40 ERA over nine starts.

PITTSBURGH — Johnny Cueto vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates is quickly becoming one of baseball’s biggest mismatches.

Cueto dominated the Pirates again over six innings, Paul Janish homered and drove in four runs and the Cincinnati Reds assured themselves of staying atop the NL Central with a 9-4 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Rookie Juan Francisco had three hits and drove in a run in his second start of the season. NL batting leader Joey Votto doubled twice to raise his average to .324 after a sore right wrist kept him out of the lineup for two games.

NL Central Standing 8/5/10

Andrew McCutchen, back in the lineup 17 hours after being struck in the neck by a 90-mph fastball from the Reds’ Mike Leake, ended Cueto’s 18-inning scoreless streak against Pittsburgh by leading off the first with his ninth homer. The Pirates, as usual, did nothing after that against Cueto (11-2), who has nine of his 31 career victories against them.

“I like pitching in Pittsburgh,” Cueto said. “If I throw a home run, I’m OK. I say, ‘Don’t worry about the home run.’ I threw my fastball, changeup, every pitch today was good.”

Cueto is 3-0 against Pittsburgh this season, throwing a one-hitter during a 9-0 victory on May 11 in PNC Park, and is 5-0 overall in his last seven starts.

Janish, filling in at shortstop for the injured Orlando Cabrera, hit a three-run homer during a six-run seventh inning against three relievers that made it 9-1. Janish had three hits, including a two-out, run-scoring single in the second off Jeff Karstens (2-7) after the Pirates chose not to intentionally walk him to get to Cueto.

“Obviously it’s a big injury, but we’ve got to deal with it as a team and I have to go out and do my part every day,” said Janish, who jumped his average from .269 to .300. “I know catching it and throwing it is my thing. Hopefully I’m able to swing the bat as well as I can and just contribute.”

Votto and Jonny Gomes doubled in runs against reliever Wil Ledezma in the seventh ahead of Laynce Nix’s RBI triple and Janish’s third homer, and only his second since April 14.

McCutchen caught his left knee in a patch of loose sod while trying to make a sliding catch of Nix’s line drive but wasn’t hurt — good news after escaping a potentially serious injury.

“I’m fine,” McCutchen said. “It [the homer] was a good way to start off. … But I’ve never slid like that before. I hope they get that fixed.”

The Reds, 10-1-1 in their last 12 series after taking two of three games in Pittsburgh, won their sixth in eight games overall as they enjoy being in first place this late in the season for the first time since the final week of the 1999 season. They own a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, who played the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.

“Yeah, we’ve got to keep winning series and hopefully you throw a sweep or two in there somewhere,” manager Dusty Baker said. “That’s when you get on a winning streak that we really haven’t had. We’ve been playing steady ball, but we’ve got a winning streak coming pretty soon.”

The Reds’ longest winning streak is five games, accomplished three times.

Cincinnati has won eight of its last 10 against the Pirates (37-70), who became the first NL team to reach the 70-loss mark. Pinch-hitter Jeff Clement had a two-run homer in the seventh against Bill Bray and rookie Pedro Alvarez hit a solo drive in the ninth for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates, fast closing in on a record-extending 18th consecutive losing season, are on pace to lose 107 games. Only one Pirates team since 1890 has lost that many games — the 1952 Pirates lost 112 times in a 154-game season.

Don’t look for the Pirates to schedule many weekday afternoon home games next season, either. They are 0-4 in such games this season, getting outscored 44-6 — including a club record-setting 20-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on April 22.

Game notes

The Pirates have lost six of seven and 10 of 13. … The Reds are 31-18 against the NL Central. … Cueto is 9-2 overall against Pittsburgh. … Cincinnati outhit Pittsburgh 16-7. … Russ Springer, the Reds’ 41-year-old reliever, developed spasms in a hip muscle while pitching in the seventh. His status is uncertain.

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Reds’ Cabrera lands on DL

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:04:43 +0000

By M.Bowman / Staff Contributor and Wire Reports

PITTSBURGH — The Cincinnati Reds placed shortstop Orlando Cabrera on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. He suffered a strained left oblique during a ninth-inning swing on Monday.

“I don’t know,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said when asked how long Cabrera would be out. “It has to be 15 days. That I don’t know, I don’t think anybody can answer that. That’s a situation where I have seen guys come back in a period of time.

You just don’t want him to try to rush and you end up re-injuring that thing and re-injuring it and re-injuring it. Because everything you do is related to your core unit, whether it’s running, throwing, hitting, whatever.”

Paul Janish started at short and batted second Tuesday against the Pirates, and he will likely remain there for as long as Cabrera is out. Cincinnati did however recalled Juan Francisco from Triple-A Louisville to fill Cabrera’s roster spot.

Cabrera was hitting .260 with 37 RBIs and 51 runs scored. Francisco hit .286 with 16 home runs and 53 RBIs in 67 games at Louisville.

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Reds fall to Bucs 7-6

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:59:55 +0000

Associated Press

Leake pitched five innings and allowed a career-high seven runs (six earned). He walked one and struck out two.

PITTSBURGH — It took their best player getting hit near his head with a pitch to awaken Pittsburgh’s offense enough to snap another losing streak.

Rookie Neil Walker had three hits and drove in a career-high four runs and the last-place Pirates snapped a five-game skid by holding on for a 7-6 victory over the first-place Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Walker had a three-run double that followed Jose Tabata‘s RBI single just after outfielder Andrew McCutchen left the game after he was hit by a pitch in the back of the neck. It was all part of a six-run second inning for Pittsburgh, which had scored only two runs combined in losing its previous four.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Walker said when asked if his big hit coming just after McCutchen was nearly beaned made it feel any better. “I mean, that wasn’t going through my mind when I stepped into the box — I was just hoping to hit a ball hard — but the way it worked out like that was really good. Obviously, we’re happy to see Cutch OK.”

McCutchen remained on the ground on top of home plate for several minutes after sustaining a contusion of the back of his neck when a fastball from Mike Leake struck him just under the back of his batting helmet. McCutchen walked off under his own power but appeared disoriented as he headed into the dugout tunnel to the clubhouse.

The Pirates said preliminary X-rays came back normal, and McCutchen does not have any concussion-like symptoms. He is officially listed as day to day.

Brandon Phillips went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Chris Heisey had two RBI singles for the Reds, who came in having won three straight and five of six. Despite playing without two regulars in first baseman Joey Votto (NL leader in batting and home runs) and shortstop Orlando Cabrera, Cincinnati remained in first place in the NL Central because the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

Pitching on nine days’ rest as the Reds attempt to limit the rookie’s innings, Leake (7-3) had allowed six runs in a game only once in 19 career starts before the Pittsburgh second inning.

He was charged with seven runs — six earned — and seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts in five innings for his second consecutive defeat.

Cincinnati nearly erased a 7-1 deficit with two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh off Paul Maholm. Phillips hit a two-run double off All-Star Evan Meek in the eighth, but new Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan earned his first save since May 24, 2009, when he was with the Washington Nationals, by striking out two after allowing Scott Rolen’s leadoff single in the ninth.

“I was a little nervous, I’m not going to lie,” said Hanrahan, who inherited the closer’s role to share with Meek when Octavio Dotel was traded Saturday. “It had been a while since I was in a save situation.”

The Pirates tripled the number of runs they had produced in their previous 38 innings combined — and nearly doubled the three hits they had in losing 4-0 to the Reds on Monday night — when they took a 6-0 lead in the second on five hits.

NL Central Standings

“That was the whole ballgame, that one inning,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We had opportunities. We just kept chipping away, chopping away.”

Playing his second game with Pittsburgh since being acquired via trade, Chris Snyder had a two-run single. Four batters later — and immediately after McCutchen was hit, Tabata drove in Snyder with a single. Walker followed with his bases-clearing double, and he would add an RBI single in the fifth.

“I’m not going to say I wasn’t thinking about it, but I was trying to just go after the next hitter,” Leake said. “I threw a few pitches I thought I shouldn’t have thrown.”

Maholm (7-9) allowed four runs, nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in six-plus innings.

“The guys really came out and swung the bats and scored,” said Pirates manager John Russell, whose team was in the midst of its sixth losing streak this season of at least five games. “We tried to let them back in it a little, but we finished it off. It was a solid win for us.”

Game notes

The start of the game was delayed 85 minutes by rain. … Cabrera was placed on the DL on Tuesday with a strained left oblique. Votto was not in the lineup for the second consecutive game with a sprained right wrist. He was intentionally walked as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and stayed in the game defensively. The Pirates have had six losing streaks of at least five games this season. They have failed to win more than three in a row all season.

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Wood, Reds shut out Pirates 4-0

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:59:37 +0000

Associated Press

Wood, a rookie left-hander, pitched seven innings of two-hit shutout ball to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 before a crowd of 15,172 at PNC Park. He walked only one and struck out four.

PITTSBURGH — The atmosphere wasn’t the same, the lineup wasn’t the same. Not that it mattered to rookie Travis Wood and the Reds, who were too focused on returning to first place to notice.

Wood shut out the Pirates on two singles over seven innings, fill-in first baseman Miguel Cairo drove in two runs and Cincinnati regained the NL Central lead, beating Pittsburgh 4-0 on Monday night.

Russ Springer, the 41-year-old right-hander brought up from the minors earlier in the day, and Arthur Rhodes, the 40-year-old first-time All-Star, pitched an inning each to complete the combined three-hitter with the 23-year-old Wood.

The Reds won their fourth in five games with their seventh shutout of the season. St. Louis fell a half-game behind Cincinnati by losing at home to Houston, 9-4.

For Wood, this was one of those examples of a starting pitcher feeling great warming up in the bullpen, then carrying it into the game.

“All my pitches were working well,” Wood said. “I was able to get some quick outs and things went my way. I tried to work quick with the fastball and let my pitches work off it, and I was able to throw strikes to both sides of the plate.”

Chris Heisey finished off the Reds’ seventh victory in their last eight against Pittsburgh with an inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning.

Heisey’s line drive over the head of shortstop Ronny Cedeno and into the left-center gap was misplayed by center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who wasn’t given an error despite permitting the ball to roll to the wall.

Heisey didn’t realize until he was nearing third that he might be sent home.

“It’s the equivalent of running from the back of the end zone to the back of the other end zone in football and I know those guys look gassed when they have a 100-yard punt return,” Heisey said. “Now I know why — it’s a long run to be going full speed the whole time.”

The Pirates, on pace for their record-extending 18th consecutive losing season and their first 100-loss season since 2001, have been outscored 34-5 while losing their last five. They have scored two runs in their last four, with the Cardinals outscoring them 21-2 during a three-game weekend sweep.

Three losses were in games started by some of the NL’s top pitchers — Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter — but the left-handed Wood (2-1) had made only six previous career starts, winning once. His first career victory was a 10-2 decision over Milwaukee on Wednesday, when he lasted five innings.

Wood was in control from the start before a smallish crowd of 15,172 in PNC Park, never allowing a runner past second base while giving up singles by Neil Walker in the first and Lastings Milledge in the fifth. He struck out four and walked one, lowering his ERA to 2.42.

The Reds were coming off a weekend series in which they sold out three times at home against Atlanta.

“It’s not like we’re used to selling out every night, but you don’t treat the game any differently because there’s less excitement going on in the stadium,” Heisey said. “I don’t think we pay too much attention to how many people are in the stands.”

Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf (1-9) withstood being struck by a line drive in the first inning for the second straight game, but walked four and hit a batter over five innings. Walks to Brandon Phillips and Orlando Cabrera set up Cairo’s run-scoring single in the first.

Cairo, filling in for NL RBIs leader Joey Votto, who sat out with a sprained right wrist, also had a sacrifice fly in the fourth after Phillips singled and stole second.

Ohlendorf, pulled Wednesday in Colorado after being struck in the head by Troy Tulowitzki’s line drive, took a liner off the side of his right knee by Jonny Gomes, but the ball ricocheted to first baseman Garrett Jones for the out. Ohlendorf flashed a smile and stayed in the game.

“I thought it was funny more than anything else. That’s two games in a row,” Ohlendorf said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen the next time. At least it saved a hit.”

Game notes

Pirates rookie 3B Pedro Alvarez, in a 2-for-28 slump, didn’t start for the second time since his June 16 callup. … Votto is day to day. … C Chris Snyder, acquired Saturday from Arizona, made his first start for Pittsburgh. … Reds rookie Mike Leake, skipped in the Atlanta series as the Reds monitor his innings, will start Tuesday. … Pirates 1B Steve Pearce, out most of the season, will have left knee surgery Wednesday. … Reds SS Cabrera left the game with a sore left side after grounding out in the ninth. The Reds are uncertain of his status for Tuesday.

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Steelers’ Reed unhappy with contract status

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:16:48 +0000

Associated Press

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Steelers kicker Jeff Reed isn’t happy after learning he won’t be signed to the multiyear contract he expected after being designated as the team’s franchise player.

The Steelers told Reed earlier in the year they wanted to work out an extended contract. Any chance that deal would get done apparently ended when right tackle Willie Colon was injured in June and Flozell Adams signed a two-year contract to replace him.

Reed, who signed a one-year contract for $2,814,000, can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

“All I can do is play this year out and that’s pretty much it,” Reed said Sunday. “I was very optimistic last offseason and that didn’t get me anywhere.”

Reed has played in Pittsburgh since 2002 and is the ninth-most accurate kicker in NFL history, making 189 of 227 attempts (83.3 percent). He is a league-best 77 of 87 (88.5 percent) since 2007.

The 31-year-old Reed became discouraged after the Raiders signed Sebastian Janikowski to a $16 million, four-year contract that is the richest for an NFL kicker, with $9 million guaranteed.

While Janikowski is a better long-range kicker – he is 25 of 49 from 50 yards-plus to Reed’s 6 of 13 – he is less accurate from all distances (229 of 292, 78.4 percent). Reed also is 16 of 18 (88.9 percent) in the postseason, playing on two Super Bowl winners.

“Janikowski’s a great kicker but … he definitely doesn’t have any rings and percentage-wise, I’m better,” Reed said. “That’s the kind of things you take into account. I wasn’t asking for that kind of money, but it doesn’t matter. Bottom line is this isn’t Oakland, and they’re going to pay who they want to pay here.”

Reed wants to avoid putting pressure on himself to have a big season that might set him up for a multiyear contract elsewhere.

“Life’s not fair and I have to move on because if I don’t perform, I won’t be here anyway,” Reed said.

There is no indication Reed’s off-field issues made the Steelers reluctant to sign him past this season.

In June, Reed said the NFL ordered him to undergo an evaluation after he became involved in an alcohol-related dispute with Pittsburgh police following an October home game. The evaluation apparently was similar to that ordered for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after he was accused of, but not charged with, sexually assaulting a college student.

Reed was charged with multiple offenses, including disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, after police said he became agitated as they were attempting to cite tight end Matt Spaeth for urinating in a parking lot. The incident occurred outside a bar near Heinz Field a few hours after the Steelers beat the Browns 27-14.

Reed later completed 40 hours of community service with the Salvation Army and was cleared of all charges on April 12.

Last year, Reed paid a fine of $543.50 for damaging a paper towel dispenser and harassing employees at a Westmoreland County convenience store, a few weeks after the Steelers won the Super Bowl.

Despite those problems, the Steelers often book Reed for community appearances, and he is one of their most popular players. Numerous fans were spotted wearing Reed’s No. 3 jersey during weekend training camp practices.

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Steelers reach terms with Flozell Adams

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:05:40 +0000

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached terms with five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Flozell Adams on a two-year contract.

Steelers, Flozell Adams reach terms.

The Steelers have sought offensive line help since right tackle Willie Colon was lost for the season last month with a torn Achilles’ tendon.

The Steelers could play the 35-year-old Adams at right tackle, or shift him to his natural position of left tackle and move Max Starks to the right side.

The 6-foot-7, 340-pound Adams played 12 seasons with Dallas, but was cut last spring before receiving a $2.5 million roster bonus. He worked out with the Steelers last month. Two years ago, Adams signed a six-year contract with Dallas that guaranteed him about $15 million.

The NFL Network first reported the Adams deal.

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Steelers unsure if QB’s suspension will be cut

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:41:57 +0000

Associated Press

Steelers wait on Roethlisberger decision

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers expect to go through most or all of training camp without knowing the exact date when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can play again.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell plans to visit the Steelers’ camp on Aug. 5, but the stop is not specifically related to Roethlisberger’s six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Goodell is visiting seven training camps during the first week of August.

Goodell said the suspension could be reduced by two games if Roethlisberger has no more behavioral issues and does all that is asked by the league. Roethlisberger was suspended April 21 after being accused of, but not charged with, sexually assaulting a Georgia college student in March.

“Toward the end of training camp is the timetable to find out,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said Tuesday.

The Steelers’ final preseason game is Sept. 2. They open the season at home Sept. 12 at Atlanta, but the earliest that the two-time, Super Bowl-winning quarterback can return is Oct. 17 against Cleveland. Should Goodell decide not to reduce the suspension, Roethlisberger couldn’t play until Oct. 31 in New Orleans.

“All we’re concerned about is Ben and, at this point, it’s six games,” director of football operations Kevin Colbert said. “Whether it gets reduced or not, it’s up to the commissioner.”

The uncertainty over when Roethlisberger can play could make an already challenging Steelers training camp even more difficult.

Coach Mike Tomlin must find enough snaps in camp and during the exhibition games for Roethlisberger and the starter at the beginning of the season — almost certainly, Byron Leftwich. Leftwich took nearly all the snaps with the starters when Roethlisberger was barred from practicing during the offseason.

The Steelers also want to prepare third-year quarterback Dennis Dixon, who started one game last season. Longtime backup Charlie Batch is also on the roster.

“I don’t think they have a set rotation, I don’t think they have an exact 1-2-3 order,” Colbert said of the coaches. “I think over the course of the preseason they’ll get that. They also have to factor in how much work Ben will get knowing that he won’t be available for the minimum of four games.”

While teams always work with multiple quarterbacks during camp, this is the first time an NFL team has known it must prepare two starting quarterbacks because of a suspension.

“No question it’s an unusual situation and it’s a challenge for our coaching staff and our players, but I think we can have the guys who can do it,” Rooney said. “I know they’re determined to get it right. I think by the time the season opens we’ll be ready.”

The Steelers open camp Friday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, with their first practice the following day. Roethlisberger can practice through the end of camp, but is barred from all team activities while suspended.

Whenever Roethlisberger returns, Colbert has no worries about him being ready to play despite the lack of practicing. Roethlisberger threw for a career-high 4,328 yards last season, with 26 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, although the Steelers missed the playoffs a season after winning their second Super Bowl in four seasons.

“No, none whatsoever,” Colbert said. “Ben will be prepared. Ben is a super competitor that I think will come back with a real strong desire to prove that he’s still a great quarterback.”

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Cowher’s wife dies at 54 of skin cancer

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:01:54 +0000

Associated Press

Coach Cowher's wife, Kaye Cowher, dies of cancer at 54

RALEIGH, N.C. —Kaye Cowher, the wife of ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher and a former basketball player at North Carolina State and in the now-defunct Women’s Professional Basketball League, has died of skin cancer. She was 54.

Cowher died Friday in her native North Carolina, where the family relocated at her urging during Cowher’s final year as coach in 2006, one season after the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The family had lived since in Raleigh.

“Kaye was such a loving and compassionate person and she was the foundation of our family,” Bill Cowher, now an NFL analyst with CBS, said in a statement Saturday. “Kaye was always at my side throughout my career as a player, coach, NFL analyst and, most importantly, as a parent to our three daughters.”

He added: “Kaye was the rock that we could all lean on in the tough times. She was looked up to by so many people and I cannot say enough about what Kaye meant to our family.”

Kaye Cowher and other family members were often seen cheering from a private box at Steelers home games during Bill Cowher’s 15 seasons as coach from 1992-2006. The Steelers lost four AFC championship games—all at home—before finally winning the Super Bowl, and Kaye Cowher was repeatedly seen consoling her husband following those defeats.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said: “Kaye was a very private person who was very devoted to her family. Kaye made many friends in our organization and our community.”

The Cowhers met at North Carolina State, where Bill played linebacker before beginning an NFL career. They married in 1981, after the former Kaye Young played alongside twin sister Faye in college and during a three-season pro basketball career.

After leading North Carolina State to a 29-5 record and the first Atlantic Coast Conference women’s title in 1978, the sisters played one season with the New York Stars and two with the New Jersey Gems in a league that was a forerunner to the WNBA. During the twins’ WPBL careers, they filmed a Wrigley Doublemint gum commercial.

At the time of her death, Kaye Cowher served on the North Carolina State Board of Visitors, which advises the school’s chancellor and board of trustees. The Cowhers returned to Raleigh even before Bill Cowher’s NFL coaching career ended partly because of their close ties to the university and the friends they made during college.

Besides her husband, Kaye Cowher is survived by daughters Meagan, Lauren and Lindsay. Meagan and Lauren played basketball at Princeton and Lindsay plays at Wofford.

A private funeral service will be held Monday in North Carolina.

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Steelers sign Tomlin through 2012

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:15:56 +0000

Associated Press

Steelers sign Tomlin to extension

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed coach Mike Tomlin to a two-year contract extension through the 2012 season, with an option year in 2013.

The extension was expected because the Steelers’ policy has been to sign a coach before he begins the final season of a contract. Tomlin is only the Steelers’ third coach since 1969, following Chuck Noll (1969-91) and Bill Cowher (1992-2006).

Tomlin is 31-17 in three seasons, with two division titles, an AFC championship and a Super Bowl victory. During the 2008 season, he became the youngest coach—he was 36—to win the Super Bowl when the Steelers beat Arizona 27-23.

“Mike Tomlin has proven to be one of the top head coaches in the National Football League in a relatively short time,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “His unique ability to lead the team and motivate individuals have been key factors in our success.”

The Steelers were 9-7 and missed the playoffs last season. They open training camp July 30 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported July 13 that Tomlin had signed a three-year extension through the 2014 season.

Tomlin made an average of $2.5 million per season under the contract he signed upon succeeding Cowher in January 2007. His new contract is expected to at least double that.

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Steelers’ Colon to have Achilles’ tendon surgery

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:59:56 +0000

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH—Steelers offensive tackle Willie Colon will have surgery Wednesday to repair a torn right Achilles’ tendon and is expected to miss the season.

Steelers offensive tackle Willie Colon

Colon was injured while working out on his own at the Steelers practice complex on Monday. The Steelers haven’t officially ruled Colon out for the season, but such an injury typically sidelines a player for at least nine months.

Rookie tackle Chris Scott, a fifth-round pick, also will have surgery Wednesday to repair a right foot injury that occurred while he was training in Tennessee.

With Colon likely out until 2011, the Steelers will explore bringing in an experienced offensive tackle. Right guard Trai Essex also could be moved there if another player isn’t signed.

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