Pittsburgh Steelers

Terrelle Pryor tells TMZ Sports his NFL career ain't done yet ... the wide receiver is gearing up for a comeback, and says he's already spoken with the Patriots about a possible signing.

The 31-year-old hasn't played in a regular-season game since 2018 ... and after he nearly lost his life in a stabbing incident back in Nov. -- some thought his career was done.

But, Pryor tells us he's been working like a maniac to get back on the field ... and says he and his reps have already been in contact with several teams -- including New England.

"There have been conversations with a couple -- five teams," Pryor tells us.

But, TP says because of the COVID-19 pandemic ... he hasn't been able to get a tryout with anyone just yet, but he's confident that'll change soon.

Pryor says he's fully healthy now ... and would really love a shot to catch passes from either Cam Newton in New England or Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.

"Those two are very intriguing," Pryor says. "Especially Cam. I've been a big fan of him throughout the years ... And, obviously, Big Ben, that's my hometown of Pittsburgh, so that's just two teams that I really want to play for."

Pryor, though, says he's open to everybody ... and claims he's found the solutions to stop injuries that have plagued him ever since he left Cleveland after his breakout year in 2016.

Welp, this is awesome.

Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey just copped himself a new piece of real estate ... waterfront property in Fort Lauderdale and it's huuuuuuuge.

The 3-story home is 7,000 square feet -- with 6 bedrooms, 7 full bathrooms, 2 half bathrooms (that's 9 total toilets for all you mathletes out there), game room, bar, pool, etc.

There's also an ELEVATOR in the house -- in case Pouncey doesn't feel like walking up the stairs.

The rooftop terrace is sick. The private dock is sick. The kitchen is sick. The closets are sick.

We like the house. A lot.

The Listing agents who represented the property were Peter Barkin and Mark Gilman of the Barkin-Gilman Group | Compass. The Buyer’s agent who represented Maurkice was Adam Burke of Grandiose Real Estate, Inc.

30-year-old Pouncey has reportedly made more than $66 mil during his 10-year NFL career.

Ben Roethlisberger's being put on blast for getting a haircut in public during the COVID-19 pandemic ... with PA Governor Tom Wolf calling out the QB for not following the state's shutdown measures.

Of course, Big Ben was excited to show off his new, trimmed look in a hype video on Monday ... which symbolized the Steelers QB finally being back to 100% after an elbow injury.

The video showed a mask-less Ben in a Sewickley barbershop getting his hair and beard trimmed up over the weekend ... which is a big no-no, considering hair salons in Allegheny County haven't gotten the green light to reopen yet.

When asked if Ben's visit will spark an investigation into the barbershop ... Wolf explained he's not happy about the situation.

"My concern is just a general concern," Wolf said on Tuesday. "Anybody who puts himself or herself into harm’s way is something that I think we have to try to avoid."

"When you go to something like a barbershop and you’re not protected, I don’t care who you are, the chances of that virus actually wreaking havoc on your life increases."

"I don’t personally think any Pennsylvanian ought to take that chance. I certainly don’t want to take that chance myself."

Ben had been growing his hair out ever since he went down with the injury in September ... vowing to keep the caveman look until he was officially back.

Ben Roethlisberger's days of looking like Tom Hanks in "Cast Away" are OVER -- 'cause the Pittsburgh Steelers QB is back throwing on the football field ... and he's got a new look.

Remember, Big Ben went down with an elbow injury in 2019 ... and promised to not shave or cut his hair until he could throw a football again "like, a legit NFL pass."

Steeler fans (and Ben's wife) have gotta love the clip Roethlisberger posted on social media on Monday ... showing the QB finally getting back to work at 100%.

The hype vid is proof Roethlisberger earned his fresh cut, 'cause Ben is seen throwing bombs to his guys, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner and Ryan Switzer.

"He's baaaaack," JuJu says in the vid. "Stay tuned."

Of course, the 38-year-old played just 2 games in 2019 and had surgery to repair his elbow ... so naturally, some fans showed a bit of concern over the status of their QB.

But, Ben looks a LOT better on and off the field now ... 'cause that beard is gone!!

James Harrison says Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin "handed me an envelope" after one of the most vicious hits of his career ... calling it the "G-est thing" Tomlin ever did.

The hit Harrison is referring to went down against the Cleveland Browns in 2010 ... when he led with his helmet and laid out a defenseless Mohamed Massaquoi.

The hit resulted in a $75,000 fine and Massaquoi left the game with a concussion ... and now, Harrison is sharing his side of the infamous incident.

"Listen, on everything I love, on my daddy’s grave, I hit that man with about 50% of what I had and I just hit him because I wanted him to let loose of the ball," Harrison told Barstool Sports' "Going Deep" podcast.

"If I had knew they was gonna fine me $75,000, I would have tried to kill him."

What Harrison said next could be problematic for Tomlin, who is still the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"And, I ain’t gonna lie to you, when that happened, right? the G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that."

"I ain’t gonna say what, but he handed me an envelope after that."

Remember -- the New Orleans Saints got in HUGE trouble with Bountygate from 2009-2011 ... when players were paid bonuses for injuring opponents.

The insinuation is there was money in the envelope -- but Harrison doesn't confirm or deny that.

He also doesn't say if Tomlin had paid him to carry out the hit ... or if Tomlin was offering to pay the coming NFL fine.

One thing is clear ... the comment is raising A LOT of eyebrows.

We've reached out to the NFL for comment ... so far, no word back.

James Harrison might be the only man in America who wasn't surprised to see Rob Gronkowski return to the NFL -- he tells TMZ Sports he knew a Gronk comeback was in the works since at least November!!!

The former Steelers star says he and the future Hall of Fame tight end filmed a TV ad together more than six months ago ... and he could tell then Rob was gearing up to play again.

"I knew then that he was going to come back," Harrison says. "He was talking about it. He was itching then. He was feeling a lot better."

Harrison says taking 2019 off allowed Rob's body to heal up ... so Harrison could see the writing for a return on the wall.

But, James admits he NEVER saw Tampa Bay coming ... "because of course Tom [Brady] wasn’t there at the time, but once he got there it was like, 'Yeah, it makes sense.'"

As for Tom's departure from New England ... James says he WAS surprised to see his former teammate leave the Pats!!!

By the way, James is finding success in life after football ... he's set to have a role on Starz's new wrestling drama "Heels" -- and he says it's got him thinking about a possible WWE future!

The beef between Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster is BACK ON ... AB just went after the Steelers star once again, calling him "boo boo" and a "bum."

Unclear why Brown decided to reignite his war with his former teammate ... but he went after the receiver HARD Monday, writing on Twitter, "Boo Boo Shoester was ready under 500 U Bum learn some Respect"

Of course, AB and JuJu really got into it earlier this year after Brown was traded from Pittsburgh to Oakland ... with Brown shading JuJu for his 2018 fumble issues.

JuJu fired back on social media by writing, "Crazy how big that ego got to be to take shots at people who show you love! Smh"

But, it seemed JuJu was ready to bury the hatchet on it all ... 'cause Smith-Schuster told us back in April that Brown is "my guy."

Yet, clearly, the beef still remains ... 'cause AB only needed about 24 hours after the Steelers' season ended to take a shot at JuJu's down stat line this year (just 552 receiving yards in 12 games).

There's more ... AB also appeared to take a shot at his former quarterback in Oakland on Monday, getting in a dig at the possibility Jon Gruden might cut bait with Derek Carr in 2020.

"Tell Derek Carr I’ll buy his house in Vegas," Brown wrote.

SAVAGE!!!

Steelers safety Kameron Kelly was arrested Friday ... after he allegedly made "terroristic threats" during an altercation at a Pittsburgh-area bar.

According to court documents obtained by KDKA, cops were called to Mario’s South Side Saloon after 23-year-old Kelly refused to leave the pub.

Police say Kelly was combative, and after they instructed him to leave the bar area ... he refused -- and still tried to make his way back in.

Cops also say Kelly had threatened a male bar staffer ... saying he would "knock out" the man.

Kelly was eventually arrested ... and according to court docs, he was hit with two misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and one misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

The 6'2", 205-pound DB was slated for a preliminary arraignment hearing in an Allegheny County courtroom Friday.

Kelly has played in 14 games for the Steelers this season ... logging an interception and 21 tackles.

This is gonna hit you right in the feels ...

Steelers RB James Conner -- who famously battled cancer in college -- went out of his way Sunday to comfort another man fighting the illness ... and the whole thing is insanely emotional.

The fan in the "FcukCancer" jersey is Richie Marsili -- who was diagnosed with a rare untreatable sarcoma and had always wanted to get on the field for a Steelers game.

Richie's friend, Rusty Sergent, made it all happen -- buying tickets and field passes and tweeting at Conner in the hopes the NFL star could "see him and give some encouragement."

It's a situation Conner knows all too well ... in 2015, he was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma, forcing him to miss his junior season at the Univ. of Pitt. to undergo chemotherapy.

He was declared cancer free in 2016 and rejoined the football team -- balling out of his mind and eventually getting drafted by the Steelers in 2017.

So, for Conner it was a no-brainer to meet Marsili on Sunday ... and the scene was so emotional, it brought Richie's pal, Rusty, to tears.

Not only did Conner deliver on a motivational speech for Richie, he also signed the guy's customized "FcukCancer" jersey with the message "Rich! Keep going ... Fcuk cancer!"

Looks like the NFL isn't letting the Steelers' quarterback, Mason Rudolph, off the hook in the fallout from the fight he was involved in with Browns player Myles Garrett.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, a source is saying that Rudolph has been hit with a $50,000 fine for his role in the brawl from last Thursday. Reportedly, other players will be and already have been fined -- including some who left the bench at the time.

It doesn't sound like Rudolph will be suspended though -- based on Rapoport's early reporting, it appears he's just getting knocked financially. BTW, he signed a 4-year contract with the team last year for $3.9 million ... so this is like a slap on the wrist.

It's interesting that these punishments are being handed down so late, considering the Rudolph-Garrett fiasco has been the talk of pro-sports for about a week now. At first, people thought Rudolph would get through this unscathed -- but clearly, that didn't happen.

Of course, Garrett was suspended indefinitely, which he appealed ... but the NFL's penalty was ultimately upheld.

Funny enough, tons of people -- including prominent members of the media -- made note of Rudolph seemingly escalating things on the football field when he was aggressively taken down by Garrett on a last-second play to end the game. Many have said he purposely put his cleat into Garrett's groin and then went after him when he got his helmet taken off.

Adding insult to injury, Garrett came out just this past week to claim Rudolph hurled a racial slur at him, which prompted him to swing the helmet. Rudolph denied that, and the NFL also publicly said it found no evidence of any such slur in their investigation.

Makes ya wonder if the league caved to public pressure and doled out this late punishment to make things look a little more even now that everyone's spoken their piece on it.

Myles Garrett told NFL officials Steelers QB Mason Rudolph hurled a racial slur at him before the infamous helmet attack ... though Rudolph is calling BS.

As we previously reported, the Cleveland Browns star met with NFL officials to appeal the length of his suspension from the Nov. 14 incident.

During the meeting, Garrett told his side of the story ... and claimed it was a racial slur from Rudolph that got him so pissed off, he ripped off the QB's helmet and attacked him with it, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

But, Rudolph is VEHEMENTLY denying the claim -- his lawyer has already issued a statement calling the allegation a flat-out lie.

"This false allegation was never asserted by Garrett in the aftermath of the game, never suggested prior to the hearing, and conspicuously absent in the apology published by the Browns and adopted by Garrett."

"The malicious use of this wild and unfounded allegation is an assault on Mason's integrity which is far worse than the physical assault witnessed on Thursday."

"This is reckless and shameful."

Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens just addressed the situation at Browns practice on Thursday, saying, "I stand by Myles and that's not going to waver. I'll support Myles in every way possible."

Kitchens refused to disclose what he and Myles talked about following the incident.

Story developing ...

Mason Rudolph is admitting he shouldn't have tried ripping Myles Garrett's helmet off his head during last week's brawl ... but is adamant he didn't say anything to spark the attack.

The Steelers QB read a prepared statement at practice on Wednesday ... saying, “Thursday night, to say the least, it was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved."

“Looking back on the final play of the game, I fell short of the mark there too. I should have done a better job of keeping my cool in that situation."

As for the speculation he may have said something to put Garrett over the edge ... Rudolph claims he said nothing.

“Definitely didn’t say anything. I got to do a better job of keeping my composure in those situations.”

It's a big change of tune from Rudolph's comments last week when the QB called Garrett's actions "cowardly" and "bush league" ... despite trying to yank the Browns star's helmet off and appearing to kick him where it hurts.

Rudolph says he hopes to move past the situation and has no ill will towards Garrett.

Regarding punishment, Rudolph says he hasn't received a letter from the NFL ... while Garrett is meeting with the league today to appeal his indefinite suspension.

Brad Paisley is a MASSIVE Cleveland Browns fan -- and you can tell he's genuinely sad about the incident with Myles Garrett ... explaining why the helmet-swing was heartbreaking to watch.

"Wish he hadn't done what he did," the country music superstar tells TMZ Sports ... "It's crazy. He shouldn't have done that."

Paisley has spent a lot of time around the Browns (remember his "Hard Knocks" cameo at training camp?) ... and says he's heard Garrett is a good dude, which makes it harder to understand why he went so crazy against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

"I'd love to know what he's thinking. I'm sure he's remorseful."

Even if Garrett can bounce back from the scandal, Paisley says he'll NEVER win back Steelers fans ... saying, "Pittsburgh will never forgive him, I'm sure."

As for the punishment, Paisley says he'll support whatever suspension the NFL eventually dishes out -- "He needs to serve that time, whatever they decide that is."

The league has already suspended Garrett for the rest of the year, but he's appealing this week and the punishment COULD change (maybe).

So, why is Paisley -- who's from West Virginia -- a Browns fan? It all stems back to Brian Sipe ... (betcha didn't think you'd see that name today!)

Here's a video to help explain ...

Pittsburgh Steelers LB Anthony Chickillo spent part of his bye week behind bars ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the 26-year-old was arrested after cops say he admitted to getting violent with his track star GF.

Cops say Chickillo was out at the exclusive Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Penn. when he got into an argument with his girlfriend, Canadian track athlete Alysha Newman, at the resort's casino.

FYI, 25-year-old Newman is a star pole vaulter in Canada. She made the Olympic team in 2016 and won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Newman told officers the spat began over table games ... and when the argument carried on into the couple's room, things turned violent.

Newman told cops that Chickillo grabbed both of her arms and threw her against a wall and door. She says the 6'3", 253-pound football player then shoved her to the ground.

Newman also claims Chickillo smashed her $900 iPhone in the altercation ... and says she was forced to lock herself in the bathroom until police arrived to diffuse the situation.

When cops showed up ... they say they noticed "visible redness" to both Newman's right and left bicep areas as well as "bruising beginning to form" -- and say Chickillo admitted to pushing her to the ground.

They arrested Chickillo ... and eventually hit the linebacker with charges of simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment.

Cops also tell TMZ Sports Newman was hit with a summary citation for harassment for her role in the altercation.

Chickillo -- who had his arraignment hearing in Pennsylvania on Sunday -- was released on $10,000 bail ... but is due back in court next week.

The Steelers -- who were on a bye this past week and are set to play the Dolphins next Monday -- released a statement, saying, "We are aware of an incident involving Anthony Chickillo last night and are still gathering information. Until we have further details we will not provide any further comments."