First Call: Another big name ILB will hit free agency; Taylor Lewan renews interest in Steelers; Alex Ovechkin returns

Friday’s “First Call” looks at two recently released veterans that could fit positions of need for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Alex Ovechkin is back for the Capitals. Aaron Rodgers has left his darkness retreat.

And the Duquesne men’s basketball team hunts for win No. 20 on Sunday.

Taking another run?

The Steelers were reportedly interested in acquiring Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner in March of last year.

That didn’t happen. He went to the Los Angeles Rams instead and tallied 140 tackles (81 solo, 10 for loss), six sacks, five passes defended and two interceptions. He was named a second-team All-Pro, and he received the highest grade of any linebacker from Pro Football Focus.

But the Rams are reportedly releasing Wagner after just one season of a five-year $50 million contract. Via OverTheCap.com, as of Thursday, the Rams were $14.9 million over the salary cap. Wagner’s contract was set to pay him a base salary of $7.5 million in 2023 with $4 million in bonuses and $1 million from his prorated signing bonus, adding up to a cap number of $12.5 million. Releasing him leaves $7.5 million in dead money on the books, so the Rams will gain $5 million in new cap space from the move.

The Steelers still need inside linebacker help, even after settling on Myles Jack to help the roster last year. Wagner is just the latest in a growing list of high-profile players at that position who will become free agents next month. Pro Bowlers Lavonte David (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Tremaine Edmunds (Buffalo Bills) are about to hit the market. Philadelphia Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards is also a name to track. Pro Football Focus recently suggested Pittsburgh as the best possible destination for Edwards in free agency. Spotrac’s projected contract for Edwards is four years, $47.9 million. That’s $11.9 million per year.

In case you missed it the first time

Former Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan is reiterating his interest in playing for the Steelers in 2023.

The Titans cut him on Thursday, in a move that has long been expected. In fact, anticipating that decision last month, Lewan made his thoughts about signing in Pittsburgh public via social media.

During his most recent edition of his “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast, Lewan once again mentioned the Steelers as a team that could be a fit, along with the Bengals, Saints and Eagles. But he ruled out any of the Titans’ three AFC South rivals: the Jaguars, Colts or Texans.

Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky has also noted that the franchise hasn’t closed the door on reuniting with Lewan at a lower cost.

After two torn ACLs in three seasons, Lewan has also acknowledged that retirement is a possibility. The 31-year-old was slated to count for $14.8 million against the Titans salary cap for 2023.

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Out of the darkness

Aaron Rodgers’ darkness solitude trip in Oregon is over.

Aaron Rodgers emerging from his darkness retreat pic.twitter.com/YTt8s5r1vC

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) February 23, 2023

Scott Berman, who owns Sky Cave Retreats, told ESPN.com that the Green Bay Packers quarterback left the dark room Wednesday.

Berman said “the 300-square-foot room in which Rodgers spent his time is a partially underground structure devoid of light, with a queen bed, a bathroom and a meditation-like mat. It is fully powered, and the lights can be turned on from inside the room.”

Before going on his four-day solitary retreat, Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” that he had scheduled the period of isolation so that he could forge “a better sense of where I’m at in my life.”

The former NFL MVP is believed to be figuring out whether he will play in 2023 or retire — and if he does play, if he wants to stay in Green Bay.

Honestly, if the decision was primarily about playing or not and he needs four days of solitary isolation to figure that out, he should just retire. But Rodgers did add that the darkness retreat wasn’t strictly about football-related matters.

Back on the ice

Alex Ovechkin made his return to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. The future Hall of Famer missed the team’s previous four games because he was back in Russia mourning the death of his father.

Ovechkin’s return didn’t seem to help the Capitals (28-26-6) much. They lost at home to the woeful Anaheim Ducks (18-34-7) by a final score of 4-2. Ovechkin was held without a point.

Whitehall’s John Gibson made 41 saves for Anaheim. Gibson now has 1,343 saves. Via the Ducks twitter feed, that’s the most saves by any NHL goalie in his first 40 games of a season since Jacques Plante (1,396) in 1963-64.

Washington’s regulation loss is the club’s sixth in a row. They are tied for 11th place in the Eastern Conference (62 points) with the Buffalo Sabres.

20-20 vision

The Pitt Panthers men’s basketball team got its 20th win Wednesday over Georgia Tech. Now the Duquesne Dukes have a chance to reach that mark as well.

It’s a long way from 6-24 a season ago at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes can reach the 20-win plateau for the second time under Keith Dambrot with a win Sunday at home over Davidson. Dambrot’s team in 2019-20 won 21 games before the Atlantic 10 tournament was scratched due to coronavirus. Duquesne won 19 games the year before that. They are 19-9 so far this year (9-6 in Atlantic 10 play).

As for Davidson, they are struggling this year at 13-14 (6-9) after winning the A-10 a year ago at 15-3, 27-7 overall.

The Dukes are coming off a 91-74 win at La Salle on Wednesday. It’s the sixth time they have broken 90 points this season. If they don’t beat the Wildcats on Sunday (2 p.m.), the Dukes have two more chances before the A-10 Tournament starts. The UMass Minutemen are in town Wednesday night (7 p.m.), and Duquesne travels to Fordham to end the regular season on Saturday, March 4 (2 p.m.).

The Duquesne women’s team can get to 19 wins with a victory in their season finale Saturday at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph’s.