The New York Giants have released former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, the team announced. McCloud was on their practice squad.

McCloud was released from the Atlanta Falcons earlier this season after being sent home by head coach Raheem Morris in a mysterious exit.

“I sent him home,” Morris said. “Excused absence — home. Working through some things right now that are private with my young man, and we’ll figure those things out as we go.”

The former Falcons wide receiver room has gone through ups and downs. They fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliward in Week 3, a coach that McCloud is close with from his time with the Steelers. Hilliard coached McCloud for two seasons.

Morris said that McCloud’s issues have nothing to do with the fact that Hilliard was fired.

“This is between Ray-Ray, the organization and us and dealing with those things,” Morris said. “Nothing to do with that. It is just more a football thing and what we got to get straightened out.”

The former Steelers wide receiver is a valuable slot receiver who can also be a key cog on returns, but has floated around the NFL over the years trying to find a long-term home.

Fowler made a pair of saves on a Penguins power play to maintain the lead, going to the top of the crease to stop a slap shot from Ben Kindel in the slot at 11:25 and pushing right to deny a one-timer from Erik Karlsson on the rebound one second later.

“He was solid. We had some good looks,” Crosby said. “He looked pretty good in there. It would have been nice to get a little bit more traffic in front of him and test him more that way. The pucks that he was able to see, he did a good job.”

Owen Beck seemed to score his first NHL goal for Montreal at 16:21, but it was overturned when the play was ruled offside on a Pittsburgh challenge.

Rust cut it to 3-1 by chipping in a backhand pass from Crosby 44 seconds into the third period.

Oliver Kapanen scored 15 seconds later, tapping in Slafkovsky’s pass to make it 4-1 at 59 seconds.

“It was good to get it back right away, you know?” Slafkovsky said. “Got back up by three goals. It gives you a little calmness on the bench too”

Karlsson pulled Pittsburgh to within 4-2 on a power play and with the extra attacker at 15:07, scoring his second this season on a point shot through traffic.

The Penguins had 34 shots on goal in the final two periods after being held to four in the first.

“For whatever reason, I don’t think we had our legs,” Rust said. “I don’t think we were executing very well. Thought we were seeing plays. It’s just our passing wasn’t crisp. That kind of thing can slow things down a lot and we can get really disconnected.”

NOTES: Crosby reached 1,719 NHL points (643 goals, 1,719 assists) with an assist on Rust’s goal and is four points behind Mario Lemieux (1,723) for the Penguins record. … Fowler, born in Melbourne, Florida, became the first Florida-born goalie in NHL history. … Fowler is the fourth Canadiens goalie to make his first NHL start against the Penguins, joining Ken Dryden (March 14, 1971), Patrick Roy (Oct. 10, 1985) and Carey Price (Oct. 10, 2007). He is the fourth Montreal goalie in the past 10 years to win his debut, following Mike Condon (Oct. 11, 2015), Charlie Lindgren (April 7, 2016) and Jakub Dobes (Dec. 28, 2024). … Canadiens forward Jake Evans did not play due to personal reasons. He is expected to join the team for a game at the New York Rangers on Saturday.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best prospect in baseball in Konnor Griffin, who heads into a crucial 2026 season with great expectations on him.

Griffin turns 20 years old next April, but could ink his future with the Pirates before he even makes a plate appearance at the major league level.

The Pirates aren’t known for their frivolous spending, but keeping Griffin around for the long-term and committing to that early on in his career might be the way to go.

Pirates GM Addresses Konnor Griffin Extension.

Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic spoke to Pirates general manager Ben Cherington at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. this week.

They spoke on a host of topics, like free agency, trades and offseason plans, as well as whether they would try and sign Griffin to an extension.

Cherington said that they haven’t had discussions with Griffin on a potential extension, as their focus is more on what is most important this offseason, such as big-time trades and signing free agents to bolster their lineup in 2026.

“You chase down 100 things, and three, four or five land,” Cherington said to Nesbitt. “That’s just the way it works. That’s still the stage we’re at.”

Would the Pirates Actually Sign Griffin to an Extension?

Most teams don’t normally sign players that haven’t made their MLB debut, but it has happened before in recent years.

Outfielder Jackson Chourio signed an eight-year, $82 million extension with the Milwaukee Brewers on Dec. 4, 2023.

Chourio had a solid start, finishing third in 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award voting, with Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes winning the award.

The one prior to that was the Chicago White Sox signing outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to a six-year, $50 million contract in 2020.

There have also been four other times this has happened, but for lesser money that both Chourio and Robert signed without making their MLB debut.

The Pirates would likely have to pay more than what Chourio got, with Griffin having the title of best prospect in baseball.

Still, they would likely sign him for much less right now than if he does make his MLB debut in 2026 and has a great season, like winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Why Konnor Griffin is Deserving of an Extension

No one expected Griffin to have the season he did after the Pirates took him ninth overall out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss., but he not only exceeded those expectations, he became a star in the making in less than a year.

Griffin quickly moved up in the Pirates minor league system. He started out with Single-A Bradenton after a strong showing in Spring Training, moved to High-A Greensboro on June 10, then finished off with Double-A Altoona on Aug. 18.

He slashed .333/.415/.527 for an OPS of .942 in 122 games this season, with 161 hits, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, 50 walks to 122 strikeouts and 65 stolen bases on 13 attempts.

The 19-year old led all of minor league baseball with 117 runs scored and the 19-year old became the first teenage draftee to have a 20-40 season, finishing with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases. He was also the first minor league player to have a 20-60 season since 1982.

Griffin ranked amongst the best players in the minor leagues, including second in runs scored, fourth in batting average, fifth in hits, tied for seventh in RBIs and tied for eighth in stolen bases.

He was the first teenager since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit .333 or better in a minor league season. He is also one of just five teenagers that were a part of the 20-40 club and stole the most bases of that group.

Griffin also played in the Futures Game during All-Star week, honoring the best prospects in baseball. Altoona teammate Esmerlyn Valdez joined him there as well, as the duo represented the Pirates for the National League.

Accolades Pile on for Griffin

Griffin’s great play earned him many awards and accolades, including earning the title of top prospect in baseball, with Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and The Athletic giving him the coveted spot. 

He also won honors like Baseball America naming him their Minor League Player of the Year Award and MLB Pipeline naming him their Hitting Prospect of the Year and Debut of the Year.

The Pirates also honored Griffin with the Honus Wagner Player of the Year, given to the best player in their minor leagues, and the Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year, given to the best defensive player in the minor leagues. 

Griffin ended his season by earning an MiLB Gold Glove Award, which bodes well for the Pirates, who are reportedly eyeing him as the starting shortstop for 2026 Opening Day.

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