As I walked over to Mason Rudolph's locker, he looked up wearily at me, having just come back to the locker room a full half an hour after many of his teammates.
I asked him if he had a moment.
"You want to talk about James?" he asked.
When I informed him I wanted to chat about him, not James Washington, he gave me his trademark smile. Sure, we could talk about that subject for a while -- not that he would have turned me away on the other, either.
I noted to Rudolph I had watched him playing catch with Antonio Brown in the far end zone at Thursday afternoon's practice during a special teams session as the Steelers prepared to host the Chargers Sunday night in a key AFC regular season game.
"I'm bored," he told me. "I don't get many reps in practice. I'm not going to sit there and waste my life away. That's just kind of what I do. It's the only way to stay in good throwing shape."
But playing catch with the team's No. 1 receiver? That has to be something a little more than just staying in throwing shape.
"(I'll throw) with anyone, but especially him," Rudolph said. "Just throwing to him and having him catch the ball. He's a good dude. He has this persona of being a star football player, but he's a good individual, a nice guy. You don't see a lot of that in the superstars. He's very personable. He's not going to brush anyone off."
Even if it is just a game of catch away from everyone else, Rudolph is trying to stay involved in his rookie season.
The 23-year-old, third-round pick hasn't been active for a game this season and likely won't be as he sits behind Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Dobbs.
Rudolph told me he gets 50 live reps in practice each week, 30 on Wednesdays when Roethlisberger doesn't practice and 20 on Thursdays. Other than that, it's those side sessions like the one Thursday with Brown or his after-practice work that keeps him sharp.
"I probably get another 500 or 600 outside of that," he told me of his after-practice work.
That often comes with Dobbs, a second-year player who's learning as well, and some of the backup or practice squad receivers. Either way, they are literally the last players on the field after every practice.
"It's something Josh and I do, to go over everything from that day," the third-round draft pick told me. "We throw a little extra. It's pretty normal stuff. We've been doing that as long as I've been playing football. It's not to be seen or anything like that. It's just a way to hone things and get better."
Otherwise, it's just meetings and mental reps. And for a young quarterback, those don't necessarily keep you from getting, well, as Rudolph put it, bored.
"I'm not going to sit over there with all of the starters and be like, 'Oh man, I'm so tired,'" he told me. "I'm not doing anything. I've got to burn some calories and have fun."
And that includes getting the odd chance to play catch with Brown -- or anyone else who might be available.
"It all depends. I'm not throwing with a guy like Antonio. He just wants to play catch," Rudolph said. "I don't want to be an idiot and get him hurt or get him over-exhausted. I'll throw with guys like Justin Hunter or James Washington running routes."
It's all about being a professional and learning on your own when the reps aren't necessarily available.
"I guess that's the case," Rudolph said.
MORE STEELERS
• Don't ask Joe Haden on a Monday or Tuesday what opposing receiver he might be shadowing in a given week. He doesn't find out until he shows up at work on Wednesday to find out that information. That's right, Haden doesn't get any input in the matter.
"Zero," he told me. "No input. It's whatever Coach T (Mike Tomlin) decides for that week. He starts breaking down film on Monday, Sunday nights sometimes, and when I come in Wednesday, he tells me, 'Joe, you're following him.'"
That doesn't mean Haden, who has been shadowing many of the league's top receivers since his days with the Browns, doesn't have an idea of who he'll get.
"You know who the No. 1 dude is," he told me.
On game day, following a particular receiver can be tricky, especially in a huddle when they can hide behind an offensive lineman. So what does Haden look for before he breaks one way or the other.
"I watch the shoes," he told me. "I'm looking down there, wherever he goes." -- Lolley
• The Steelers will hold their alumni weekend Sunday to honor the 40th anniversary of Super Bowl 13 and 43. In that respect, they were fortunate Sunday's game was moved to the night game. That should make honoring two different Super Bowl winners extra special. There will be approximately 60 former players attending this game -- 20 from Super Bowl XIII and 40 from Super Bowl XLIII. Even if you aren't going to the game, NBC plans to show some of the festivities on its broadcast. James Harrison is expected to be among those in attendance according to a source. Troy Polamalu is not. Both stars of Super Bowl 43 left the Steelers on less than friendly terms. -- Lolley
• Even though Jon Bostic is somehow leading all AFC inside linebackers in the fan Pro Bowl voting -- you Steelers fans really are something -- don't be surprised if he doesn't give way to L.J. Fort a bit this week in more than just the dime and quarters packages. Morgan Burnett is hurting again with a back issue and the Chargers throw the ball to their running backs with regularity, having done so over 100 times in their first 11 games. As Fort told me Thursday, he expects to see a lot of action this week against a Chargers team that will use a lot of pre-snap motion to try to get mismatches in its passing game. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• It can’t be much fun being Mike Buckley these days. He’s the Penguins’ goaltending coach, of course, and he became that by basically being handpicked by Matt Murray in the summer of 2017 following Marc-Andre Fleury’s exit. That, in turn, brought on predecessor Mike Bales’ dismissal and eventual move to Raleigh to become the Hurricanes’ goaltending coach.
Safe to say it hasn’t gone smoothly.
Coincidence or not, Murray hasn’t been the same since Bales left. Coincidence or not, Tristan Jarry, the Penguins’ top goaltending pupil, hasn’t progressed at either the AHL or NHL levels. Casey DeSmith has solidified, to the credit of all concerned (Buckley was also DeSmith's goalies coach at the University of New Hampshire), but this was always going to be about Murray and Jarry.
I’ve not heard so much as a peep about Buckley being in trouble, and I wouldn’t expect any such thing in-season with any assistant coach. The disruption of routine just isn’t worth the risk. But there’s no one in the organization who values the position more than Jim Rutherford, the old keeper himself, and Rutherford can’t appreciate the results he’s seen at the position, nor the fact that he was led by a player to make a move that might not work out.
I’ll repeat what I wrote following the loss to the Avalanche here: Someone had better start making some big saves. — By Dejan Kovacevic in Denver
• In the interim, Rutherford’s looking for goaltending. And he’s not looking low. He’d love nothing more than to bring a bona fide NHL starter — the Red Wings are openly shopping Jimmy Howard, for example — and there’s no shortage of those types. The issue with a seller like Detroit is that the asking price is precisely what the Penguins don’t have or can’t spare: Quality prospects and draft picks. — DK
• Can’t recall the last time I saw a player join the Penguins and assimilate as seamlessly as Tanner Pearson has, both on and off the ice. Away from the game, he’s become a magnet for his teammates. — DK
• Cool to see Ian Cole connect with a few old buds here after the game Thursday night in a corridor outside the visiting locker room. He’s never stopped being missed, on all levels. — DK
• Mike Sullivan’s going to sacrifice speed/skill for grit for the foreseeable future. That’s where his mind is. And it makes sense: If the bottom two lines aren’t going to score, they might as well get something else done. That’s why Garrett Wilson and Derek Grant are playing, and it’s why Riley Sheahan’s gotten his nose dirty of late. The message has been sent. — DK
• Chuck Fletcher and Tom Fitzgerald, two men with recent ties to the Penguins' front office, have emerged as candidates to replace the fired Ron Hextall as the Flyers' next general manager. Fletcher served as assistant GM to Ray Shero from 2006-09 before taking over as GM of the Wild during the Penguins' '09 Stanley Cup run until last April when he was let go. Minnesota qualified for postseason play in the last six of Fletcher's nine seasons on the job but never advanced beyond the second round. Fitzgerald, who replaced Fletcher in Pittsburgh, served as an assistant GM to Shero and then Rutherford before leaving the organization in July 2015. Both Fletcher and Fitzgerald have since reunited with Shero in New Jersey where Fletcher serves as an advisor to the GM while Fitzgerald is the assistant GM. The Flyers are expected to name Hextall's replacement as soon as next week. Fletcher, who interviewed Thursday in Philadelphia, is the favorite. -- Chris Bradford
• When Shero took over as Penguins GM in the summer of 2006, he brought the organization into the 21st century with the use of technology. His predecessor, Craig Patrick, had previously done everything by hand. When the Penguins moved their offices from the Civic Arena, boxes of Patrick's handwritten scouting reports on yellow legal pads had to be moved across Centre Avenue. With Patrick coming back into the organization as a pro scout, the 72-year-old says he has much to learn abut computers and video. "It's an adjustment for me to watch and look at talent a little differently than I used to, but I think I'll figure it out," he said. One area Patrick never could have envisioned even in the 2000s is the use of advanced analytics. One of his first orders of business, he says, was meeting with the Penguins' analytics department. "It's interesting," Patrick said. "It's an element that's necessary. Everyone's doing it in all sports. If you're not doing it, you're going to be behind the eight ball." -- Bradford
• When Patrick was brought back into the fold on Nov. 19, in the midst of the Penguins' recent losing skid, some wild internet rumors speculated that he was coming back to replace Rutherford. Uh, no. The ink is still not dry on the three-year contract extension that Rutherford just signed. Among NHL general managers, only the Islanders' Lou Lamoriello, 76, is older than Rutherford, 69. In bringing back Patrick, the Penguins are simply doing right by a 72-year-old who still has a good eye for the game and whose fingerprints are all over all five of the team's Stanley Cup championships. -- Bradford
PIRATES
• A certain segment of fans hope shortstop Jordy Mercer will be re-signed as a free agent. That seemed unlikely from the start unless Mercer was willing to take a significant cut from his 2018 salary of $6.75 million. It seems even less likely now that Mercer has hired the high-powered Boras Agency to represent him. Scott Boras does not believe in the concept of hometown discounts, even for a middle-of-the-road client such as Mercer, who might be hard-pressed to find a starting job with any team. -- John Perrotto
• There has been chatter the Pirates are pursuing infielder/outfielder Marwin Gonzalez as a free agent. Considering the Pirates have what is almost an obsession with utility players, Gonzalez is likely to be out of their price range. It is doubtful Gonzalez will have to take much of a pay cut, if any, from this year’s $5.125 million salary after hitting .247/.324/.409 with 16 home runs in 145 games. -- Perrotto
• A club source doused speculation the Pirates are actively shopping right-hander Ivan Nova. The Pirates believe they will contend next season and don’t feel they have enough depth to trade a starter unless they can take Nova’s $9-million salary and use it on another rotation piece. -- Perrotto