First Call: Update on Jets plans at QB before playing Steelers; another milestone for Aaron Donald; rebuilding Matt Murray

Monday’s “First Call” looks at the New York Jets quarterback situation in advance of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

We also have Aaron Donald’s latest milestone and a big day for a former Steeler in Miami.

Plus, an in-depth piece about Matt Murray’s attempt to rediscover his game in Toronto.

Zach attack

Look for the Jets to call on Zach Wilson at quarterback when they play the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Last year’s No. 2 overall draft choice has been unable to start this year because of a knee injury. Veteran Joe Flacco has been starting. But via ESPN.com, the Jets are leaning toward starting Wilson.

“I’m expecting (him back), but until the doctors say so, I’m just going to say he’s being evaluated,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said Sunday after his team lost 27-12 to the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium.

The website says that Wilson could be cleared as early as Monday. If that happens, Saleh has said that Wilson will play as soon as he’s healthy. Citing sources, ESPN’s Rich Cimini posted that “the coach’s position hasn’t changed.”

Flacco led a great comeback against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 18. But during the loss to the Bengals, the 37-year old threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and took four sacks. The offense failed to score a touchdown.

The century mark

Pitt product Aaron Donald got his 100th NFL sack Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Cardinals.

THAT'S 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ SACKS FOR @AaronDonald97!

: @NFLonFOX | https://t.co/4beUdmlymg pic.twitter.com/9DEJKCwu2O

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 25, 2022

That makes Donald the fastest defensive tackle to hit that mark. Via CBS Sports.com, John Randle racked up 137.5 sacks during his Hall of Fame career that was spent primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. But Donald got 100 more quickly.

The Penn Hills product is now 31. His Rams won that game over the Cardinals 20-12. Donald had six tackles in the game.

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Melvin was money

Melvin Ingram had a big day for the Miami Dolphins en route to their upset of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The ex-Steelers outside linebacker had a pair of sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

HUGE PLAY BY THE DEFENSE@HollywoodVon @MelvinIngram

: Watch #BUFvsMIA on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/U8nJttQT0t

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 25, 2022

Ingram also had a fumble recovery for a score in the regular-season opener against the New England Patriots. Miami went on to beat the Bills 21-19. The Dolphins improved to 3-0.

The Steelers visit Miami on Oct. 23.

Murray moving on

Following a bumpy run in Ottawa, former Penguins goalie Matt Murray is looking to rebuild his career in Toronto.

After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, Murray was traded to Ottawa after the 2020 season.

In 47 games with the Senators, Murray had a 15-25-2 record with an .899 save percentage and a goals against average of 3.23. But Toronto decided to trade for him anyway this offseason.

Sportsnet’s Sonny Sachdeva posted a long piece about trying to find out how Murray’s game could be rebuilt. He turned to Mike Buckley, Murray’s goaltending coach in Pittsburgh, for insight.

“When you look at the success he had at such a young age, it’s unprecedented. No goaltender in the NHL has ever done that — two Stanley Cups as a rookie. No one’s ever accomplished that. But no one’s ever faced that level of pressure, so there’s no handbook on that — you know, there’s no one that you can talk to and say, ‘Hey, you’ve done this before. How do you handle it?’” Buckley told Sachdeva. “He was the first. And not to say that he wasn’t ready for that enormous level of expectation, but when you’re playing on a team that is — let’s be honest, Pittsburgh at that time was a very offensive team, that’s going to have breakdowns. And when they do, they’re going to be significant. And you’ve got to come up with a huge save.

“And if you didn’t come up with that huge save at the right time, on a consistent basis, then you become the guy that gets kind of pointed at in the media. And I believe that’s exactly what happened with Matt. … I think for someone who had that much expectation on him at such a young age, that pressure at times got to him.”

But Buckley said there were some technique issues afoot with Murray too.

“In Pittsburgh, where he had some struggles is where he would start to play deep in net and he’d be very conservative in net. … He would generally start off each season playing a little bit deeper — I think he always kind of had the mindset that he needed to conserve his energy so he could play a lot of games,” Buckley said. “Where he had more success was when he was a little more aggressive, not just in his conditioning but just his mindset. And, also, same thing with practice — just put in the hard work in practice, don’t conserve anything.”

Murray has two years remaining on his contract, worth $6.25 million per season. But the Leafs will only be pinched against their cap for $4.68 million of it per year as Ottawa is retaining the rest of the charge.