The Steelers went about their business as normal yesterday, but it was anything but normal for coach Mike Tomlin and the entire Steelers nation following the sudden, unexpected death of legendary running back Franco Harris.
The Hall of Famer was to be honored this weekend as the team celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and retired Harris’s famous number 32 jersey prior to their Christmas Eve game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Coach Mike Tomlin said it was an honor to know Franco Harris.
Tomlin said the team worked out with heavy hearts, but would focus on playing the game well, as Franco would have wanted.
Tomlin says Franco and the other Steelers greats have always made it a habit to remain a part of the Steelers family, and it rubs off on current players.
At the practice, Terrell Edmunds sat out with his sore hamstring. Najee Harris was out with his ongoinh hip ailment and Diontae Johnson rested his sore toe. Quarterback Kenny Pickett was a full participant and remains on track to start Saturday night and linebacker Myles Jack was a limited participant with a bad knee.
Thanks to a very large fan vote, linebacker TJ Watt will play in the Pro Bowl alongside his teammate, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The game will switch to a flag football format February 5th in Paradise, Nevada, with Peyton and Eli manning serving as the coaches for the AFC and NFC.
Saturday night’s jersey retirement ceremony will still be held. Tonight’s planned public event at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, which was to have featured Harris, Joe Greene, Frenchy Fuqua, Jon Kolb and others, has been canceled, as has a private screening of the NFL Network’s documentary “A Football Life: Franco Harris” tomorrow afternoon at Pittsburgh’s Stage AE. A planned public event at the Immaculate Reception monument on West General Robinson Street between Acrisure Stadium and the site of Three Rivers Stadium is still on the schedule for tomorrow afternoon at 3:30, featuring a radio rebroadcast of Jack Fleming’s famous call of the play at precisely 3:41 PM, the exact moment fifty years ago when Franco snatched the ball out of the air and ran it in for the game-winning touchdown in the Steelers’ first-ever playoff game.
NFL
Week 16 of the NFL season kicks off tonight with the Jacksonville Jaguars visiting the New York Jets tonight.
The quarterbacks keep falling in the NFL. The Titans’ Ryan Tannehill is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. The Cardinals’ Colt McCoy is out this Sunday with a head injury. He was filling in for Kyler Murray, who had season-ending knee surgery last week. Former Penn State star Trace McSorley gets the start for Arizona on Sunday. The Colts have benched Matt Ryan again, replacing him with veteran Nick Foles.
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