First Call: Huge local Super Bowl TV ratings; ESPN picks cities for 2 Steelers free agents, puts QB and CB in Pittsburgh

We’ve talked plenty about what the Steelers may or may not do on the trade market and at the draft. But what about free agency?

ESPN has some guesses. They also have some suggestions for new homes for two current Steelers free agents.

Pittsburgh was one of the best cities in America when it came to Super Bowl television ratings. It’s a busy week for local college hoops. And the Penguins are about to be tested in their next game when they head up to Canada.

All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.”

Window shopping

ESPN.com put together a list of the best possible destinations for the NFL’s top 50 free agents, according to contributors Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen.

Two of them are targeted for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first of which is Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.

Fowler said the move makes sense because, “Winston is a high-pedigree free-agent option who thrives off play-action.” Theoretically, that would be a nice fit in Matt Canada’s offense.

But, as Fowler pointed out, the Saints may want to keep Winston and the Steelers may look elsewhere on the trade market.

Bowen echoed Fowler’s take in terms of Winston’s fit with the Steelers saying, “With Winston, we would see the full scheme under coordinator Matt Canada. That means more motion/movement, under-center play-action and full-field passing concepts on dropback throws. The decision-making with Winston is still a concern, but his arm talent and second-reaction movement ability would fit well here.”

The duo has Winston ranked 37th on the list. They have Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore rated 21st and best suited for Pittsburgh. According to Fowler about “two dozen teams had interest in Gilmore at the trade deadline… But Pittsburgh is retooling at the position as well, and Steelers coaches have long been fans of Gilmore’s play.”

Bowen claimed the Steelers defensive scheme fit would give them the best edge to sign him.

“With Gilmore’s detailed coverage technique and high-level awareness, he’d fit with plenty of teams in free agency. But we like him in Pittsburgh, where the veteran corner can check receivers in man or match/carry in the Steelers’ multiple zone schemes,” Bowen said.

I’m not exactly sold there. Gilmore will be 32 in September. Joe Haden will turn 33 in April. If they wanted to keep a veteran corner of that age, why not just keep Haden? He may not be as good as Gilmore, but he should cost a lot less against the cap than Gilmore will.

As for current Steelers, ESPN.com has JuJu Smith-Schuster rated 42nd and going to the Philadelphia Eagles. They have Terrell Edmunds 50th, going to the New York Jets.

I think Smith-Schuster will actually leave this time. Whether he ends up in Philly or Baltimore or Kansas City is anyone’s guess. Edmunds was disappointing as a first-round pick. But he’s a useful enough player to keep. I wouldn’t get into a significant a bidding war with New York or anyone else for his services. But an offer is worthwhile.

Proud peacock

NBC is touting its ratings for Super Bowl LVI. According to a network press release, the game averaged a total audience delivery of 112.3 million viewers, with 101.1 million watching across NBC and Telemundo. The game also became the most-streamed NFL game ever, with an average minute audience of 11.2 million viewers.

With those numbers, the Rams’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals was the most watched television program in the last five seasons. Telemundo also delivered the largest Spanish-language NFL game audience ever.

On a local level, Cincinnati was the top market with a 46.1/84 rating. Columbus, also with a fair amount of Bengals fans, was fourth with a 45.4/80 number. Detroit, the former home of former long-time home of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, finished second at 45.9/79. Pittsburgh was third at 45.6/74.

Despite the presence of the Rams in the game, Los Angeles finished outside of the top 10 with a mark of 36.7/77.

Toronto time

Now that the quest for Sidney Crosby’s 500th goal is scratched off the to-do list, the Penguins head up to Canada to play the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday night at 7 p.m.

The Leafs are in third place of the Atlantic Division, five points behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Maple Leafs are excellent on special teams. They have the NHL’s top power play at 31.5% and the league’s sixth-best penalty kill at 83.9%.

Toronto is also the NHL’s best faceoff team at 56%. At 3.59 goals per game, they are scoring at the fourth-best rate in hockey, too. They are also in the top 10 when it comes to goal prevention, ranking seventh in fewest goals allowed per game at 2.70.

Leafs star Auston Matthews is up to 32 goals. Leon Draisaitl (EDM) and Chris Kreider (NYR) are tied for the league lead with 33. Matthews ranks seventh in total points with 57.

Busy bunch

The next few days will be active on the local college basketball schedule.

Pitt visits North Carolina in Chapel Hill at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The Panthers are 13.5-point underdogs. They enter the contest in 11th place in the ACC at 10-16, 5-10 in conference play. The Tar Heels are tied for third at 10-4, 18-7 overall.

Duquesne has a doubleheader at the UPMC Cooper Field House Wednesday. The women’s team (9-15, 4-8 Atlantic 10) takes the court first at 5 p.m. against Richmond. The Spiders are 14-11, 5-7 in conference.

The men’s team (6-17,1-10 A-10) follows at 7:30 p.m., looking to break a 10-game losing streak against George Washington (9-14, 5-6).

Robert Morris’ men’s team (7-19, 5-12 Horizon League) plays Thursday at home against IUPUI at 7 p.m. (2-22, 0-13).

The Pitt women’s team (11-13, 2-11) visits Miami (13-10, 6-7) at 6 p.m. Thursday. The RMU women’s team (10-12, 9-9) isn’t in action again until Friday at 7 p.m. against Wright State (3-15, 2-15).