Kenny Pickett’s Playbook Inside Stolen Vehicle, Gruden Helps the Saints, and Other NFL Bullets

As if having your car stolen isn’t bad enough, imagine having your NFL playbook inside of the vehicle. Unfortunately, that was the reality for Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett this week.

  • According to a report from a Pittsburgh ABC affiliate on Friday, a man in Monroeville, PA was arrested for stealing a 2023 Genesis SUV that belonged to Kenny Pickett. The suspect, identified as Christopher Carter, 60, from Murrysville, was charged with theft, receiving stolen property, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, as noted in the criminal complaint.
  • According to the report, the Steelers confirmed that Pickett’s playbook was in the vehicle at the time of the theft. However, the playbook has since been recovered. Kenny Pickett is just the latest NFL player to have his playbook stolen with or from their vehicle in recent memory. Pickett has his truck and playbook back, so I suppose all is well that ends well. But players have to be more aware these days.
  • Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden may be on the road to returning to the NFL. According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Gruden recently worked with the New Orleans Saints, helping install their offense. Gruden coached Carr in Vegas and is helping New Orleans make adjustments to fit their new quarterback.
  • Gruden coached Carr for over three seasons before resigning in 2021. A report from the New York Times revealed that Gruden used racist, homophobic, and sexist language in emails. Still, I wouldn’t expect to see Gruden on an NFL payroll anytime soon. Tafur said his visit to the Saints lasted “five hours.” Gruden is suing the NFL over the email leak that led to his demise in Vegas.
  • Recent reports from the Kansas City Star reveal that a video production crew member, Park Zebley, is suing Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders. Zebley alleges that Adams pushed him to the ground during a previous season, causing him to fear for his life and experience symptoms of a concussion.
  • In October 2022, there was a video showing Adams pushing Zebley as Zebley crossed his path while Adams was heading to the locker room after losing 30-29 to the Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. In the video, Adams briefly stared at Zebley while he was on the ground.
  • “A municipal misdemeanor battery charge is not sufficient,” Zebley said in a statement to The Star. “I’m looking for justice. You can’t shove someone down and walk off like it didn’t happen. Not in real life.”

  • The civil lawsuit names Adams, the Raiders, the Chiefs, the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, and Landmark Events Staffing in the complaint.
  • Former New York Jets offensive lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson is going back to school! Ferguson played 10 years in the NFL but is ready for his second act. Ferguson is going to school to become a nurse.
  • Word out of the spring owners meeting last week was that the pending sale of the Washington Commanders was close, but not there yet. However, a new report by Forbes has some explanation on the delay. Here are the details on the cash concerns:
  • Some of the league owners are concerned that as the deal currently stands, Harris’ group would finance the purchase with a down payment of $5.85 billion that would include $3.75 billion of equity, $1.1 billion of secured debt and $1 billion of unsecured debt. In addition, Snyder would get 50% of the incremental increase in the Commander’s gross revenue over the subsequent two years that will be paid out of the team’s cash flow. (Snyder thinks the two parties will split $400 million while Harris believes $200 million will be split down the middle.) Add that all up, and you get the total purchase price of $6.05 billion.

    It’s the $1 billion of unsecured debt that worries some members of the league’s finance committee, sources say. As one sports banker put it to Forbes, “this would be a leveraged buyout of a football team.”

  • You can read Ozanian’s full story here:
  • In case you missed it, the Arizona Cardinals released wide receiver DaAndre Hopkins. So I put together a list of teams that might be a fit for Hopkins on Friday:
  • Jameson Williams addressed his gambling suspension at Lions OTAs on Thursday:
  • Anthony Richardson’s hot and cold day and Gardner Minshew’s mentorship were the focus of my Colts OTAs check-in on Friday:
  • Will Scottie Pippen ever get over his jealous obsession of Michael Jordan?
  • written by

    Patrick grew up in Chicago's Bridgeport and Garfield Ridge neighborhoods before moving to the Western Suburbs of Chicago before eventually relocating to the Las Vegas area with his family in 2023. He started with Bleacher Nation in 2021 and has spent time as a Staff Writer and on the Chicago Blackhawks beat. He is currently a writer and editor at Bleacher Nation covering the Chicago Bears and the NFL at large and the author of the Bleacher Nation Newsletter. Patrick is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).

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