Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II is commenting on the team’s quarterback landscape. One national media pundit is projecting that Russell Wilson will land in Pittsburgh. Patrick Peterson is standing by his early season comments about the San Francisco 49ers in advance of the Super Bowl. The Edmonton Oilers come up short in their bid to tie the 1993 Penguins’ record-long win streak.

And the PWHL hockey game that is heading to Pittsburgh will feature a former Robert Morris star.

Let Russ cook, n’at

“Football Morning in America’s” Peter King was on 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday to discuss a number of topics, including his all-time team that we reviewed this week here at “First Call.” But something King quickly said at the end of his interview with Ron Cook and Joe Starkey stood out.

King was asked what team Russell Wilson would be playing with next season, and he said, “Pittsburgh.”

He didn’t elaborate as it was part of a rapid-fire, “free association,” one-thought response, Q&A segment.

But I’d love to know King’s thinking behind that answer. I can see the logic from Wilson’s point of view, I don’t see it from Pittsburgh’s.

While Wilson’s second season in Denver was an improvement over his first campaign under Nathaniel Hackett in 2022, he still wound up benched at the end of the year. He’s 35, and he’s not the nine-time Pro Bowler of old. A month ago, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports predicted the Steelers would be signing him for $90 million over three years.

Maybe Year 3 of that deal becomes immaterial, but whatever the Steelers lay out for the first two seasons, will it be worth it? My guess is no. Especially with the way new coordinator Arthur Smith was talking about the prospect of working with Kenny Pickett on the team’s website, it sure sounds like the Steelers are prepping for an attempt to reestablish him as the starter in a new system.

Plus, Wilson wouldn’t be brought here to compete with Pickett. He’d be brought here to start. And my belief is they want at least one more year to justify that first-round pick and see if Pickett is worthy of the fifth-year option at the end of it.

Wilson does nothing but get in the way of that and eat up cap space.

QB conversations

The topic of adding competition to the quarterback room came up on KDKA-TV, as well. Bob Pompeani and Steelers president Art Rooney II sat down for a season-ending interview. He asked Rooney II if the team would be willing to “trade for a current quarterback if the price was right” during the offseason.

Rooney II kept that possibility open.

“As we sit here in early February, we are not closing the door on anything,” Rooney II replied. “We have a lot of evaluations to go through, and we’ll go through all the options and do what we need to do to be better this coming season.”

A trade doesn’t necessarily relate to Wilson. He’s likely to be released by Denver. Kirk Cousins has been much discussed as a potential acquisition for the Steelers. But he is a pending free agent.

Chicago’s Justin Fields is really the only impactful QB trade candidate who has been connected to the Steelers. Back in January, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said that Fields may be acquired for just a second- or third-round pick. For a second-round pick, again, my belief is that Fields would be brought in to be the starter, not on a 50-50 competition with Pickett.

For a third-rounder, though? Yeah, sure. Do it.

Rooney also told Pompeani that they’ve “kept the door open” to continue conversations with free-agent-to-be Mason Rudolph from their own QB depth chart.

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Standing Pat

In advance of the 2023 season opener, Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson, said their opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, might be giving some things away on tape.

Based on what he said on the “All Things Covered” podcast with former Steeler Bryant McFadden, Peterson insisted that the Niners had some “tells” in their offensive game plan.

“There are some tell signs out there that tell us what plays we’re going to get from those guys in certain situations,” Peterson said.

Peterson didn’t give the “tells” away, but he said he would after getting an interception during the opener.

“When I get my pick Sunday, we’ll talk about it,” Peterson said.

Peterson didn’t get a pick. The Steelers lost 30-7. Brock Purdy walked away with a passer rating of 111.3, and Peterson was beaten for a touchdown.

Peterson stuck by his stance after the game, claiming he could’ve had an interception, but he didn’t make any plays.

Now, in advance of the Super Bowl with the Niners in it against Kansas City, Peterson isn’t budging from his analysis.

“I did have opportunities to get interceptions. I just didn’t catch the doggone ball,” Peterson said this week on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” “He did throw a touchdown on me as well. You know, as defensive backs, we see things, and we always want interceptions. Each and every time we step on a football field.”

Peterson made sure to credit Purdy during the interview, though.

“Having an opportunity to watch him throughout the year after we played them, he’s very calm, competitive,” Peterson said. “He knows where the football needs to go in order for that offense to be successful.”

Purdy ended up with a 31:11 touchdown to interception ratio. Peterson grabbed two interceptions on the year.

The Streak

The 1993 Penguins’ NHL record 17-game win streak is safe.

The Edmonton Oilers, carrying a 16-game streak into Tuesday night, lost 3-1 in Las Vegas. Chandler Stephenson scored the game-winning goal for the Golden Knights.

Chandler Stephenson rips it home to give the @GoldenKnights the lead early in the third! ⚔️

????????: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l????????: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/zjLOR7cfDo

— NHL (@NHL) February 7, 2024

Adin Hill had 30 saves in net for the victory. Edmonton’s last loss was Dec. 19 against the Islanders in New York.

The ‘93 Penguins’ streak ended in the last game of the regular season when they tied the New Jersey Devils 6-6. They then proceeded to beat the Devils in five games during the playoffs’ first round before falling to the Islanders in the Patrick Division final.

Welcome back

The NHL announced Tuesday that the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will be playing a game on March 17 at PPG Paints Arena.

PWHL Toronto and PWHL Montréal will play each other at 12:30 p.m. The game is part of PWHL Takeover Weekend. On March 16 and 17, the women’s league will be playing three games in NHL venues. Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and the Xcel Center in Minnesota will host games as well.

When PWHL Toronto visits Pittsburgh, it’ll be a homecoming for former Robert Morris star Brittany Howard.

Excited to see @RMUWHockey alum @brithoward3 back on the ice in the ‘Burgh on March 17! #ColonialsInThePros https://t.co/ReA5WqqD10

— Colonial Hockey Foundation (@ColonialHF) February 6, 2024

She left the program as the Colonials’ all-time leading scorer in 2018 with 181 career points. That mark was eventually passed by Jaycee Gebhard with 198 points. She graduated in 2020.

Howard has two points in nine games for PWHL Toronto this season.

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