First Call: Kenny Pickett endorses keeping Matt Canada, drafting Jordan Addison; Titans tackle may be eyeing up Steelers

Wednesday’s “First Call” has two endorsements from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. One is for a current coach, another is for a former Pitt teammate.

An AFC rival may be making eyes at the Steelers if he gets to free agency. The Penguins are preparing for a home-and-home with a familiar Eastern Conference foe.

And Duquesne’s basketball team looks to continue ringing up the scoreboard in western New York.

Making a case

On Tuesday, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett made an appearance on teammate Cameron Heyward’s podcast “Not Just Football.”

During their conversation, Heyward asked Pickett what his relationship is like with Matt Canada. The Steelers offensive coordinator has been highly scrutinized by fans and media since assuming that role two years ago. Many are wondering if he will be replaced this offseason.

But Pickett made it sound like he sees room for growth with the offense under Canada’s design.

“He picks my brain on what I like and how I like it,” Pickett said. “Throughout the game, (he’s) asking me to rank plays. He likes to see the game from the quarterback’s point of view. He keeps things different. We really caught stride after that bye week, and we figured out what it takes to win — what that recipe looks like, so we can continue to grow as a team and grow as an offense.”

That said, Pickett knows what the biggest challenge will be for the two of them, assuming Canada stays on board.

“We need to take that jump into Year 2. We need more explosive plays. He is doing a great job of trying to figure out what we need to do to get those and put up some more points. So I am excited to continue to work with him this offseason,” Pickett added.

While Pickett threw just one interception after the bye, his 6.2 yards per attempt and seven touchdowns on the season were good for just 33rd in the NFL in both categories.

More sports

• Penguins' Teddy Blueger on performance this season: 'Not good'
• A sleeper for Steelers 2023 WR corps, former 2nd-round pick Anthony Miller re-signs
• CBS rules expert says NFL needs to address officiating trend that's gotten out of hand

Ready for a reunion?

Pickett was also asked about the prospect of reuniting with former Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison.

The ex-Panther transferred to USC after the 2021 season ended. He led the Trojans with 59 receptions, 875 yards and eight touchdowns. He declared for the NFL draft this week.

“That would be awesome, man,” Pickett responded when asked about the idea of having Addison in the Steelers locker room. “We talked about playing in the NFL together while we were at Pitt. That’s like the college teammate’s dream … especially like a quarterback-receiver, that kind of dynamic. Especially how well we played together.”

Pickett insisted that Addison will test better at the combine than people expect.

“He’s probably going to run low 4.3s, maybe 4.29-4.28 if he’s got a good start,” Pickett said of Addison’s 40-yard dash time. “He’s got that kind of speed. I think people are kind of underestimating his speed. He runs routes at that speed. Some guys that run 4.3, but they don’t play at that speed. That’s what’s impressive about him, he plays at that speed. He’s in and out of cuts at that speed. He’s an elite receiver. Whoever gets him is going to get a special talent.”

Pickett also said that Addison was eager to learn off the field, claiming he never missed a throwing session at Pitt. In two years with the Panthers, Addison caught 160 passes and 21 touchdowns. He totaled 2,259 yards receiving.

Bringing in the quarterback’s favorite target from college could be an interesting dynamic with Diontae Jonson and George Pickens. Especially since, at times during the 2022 season, those two already seemed agitated at points with not getting the ball enough.

But the Steelers are in need of a third wide receiver option, unless the club is convinced that player can be Calvin Austin. He missed all of his rookie year with a foot injury.

A new look for Lewan?

Tennessee Titans tackle Taylor Lewan is likely to be released after missing most of this season with a knee injury.

After seeing an image of himself photoshopped into Steelers gear on Twitter, Lewan at least cosigned on color scheme.

Those colors so go hard. https://t.co/KTtcnznA3L

— Taylor Lewan (@TaylorLewan77) January 17, 2023

The Steelers may be in the market for an offensive tackle in free agency or the draft. Lewan was a Pro Bowler from 2016-18 with the Titans. He signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension with Tennessee in 2018, but injuries have limited him to just 20 total games over the last three years.

The 31-year-old is slated to count for $14.8 million against the Titans salary cap for 2023.

Back-to-back

It’ll be two games in three nights for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators. The two clubs are taking part in a home-and-home series over the next few days.

The Pens are in Ottawa on Wednesday night, then the clubs will rematch in Pittsburgh on Friday.

The Penguins eked out a victory over the lowly Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 in overtime on Monday. That was after blowing a 2-1 third-period lead.

As for the Senators, they have lost four of five and haven’t looked particularly great doing so. In those five games, the Sens have been outscored by a total of 23-10.

Ottawa has 41 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets (28) are the only team in the Eastern Conference with fewer. Ottawa doesn’t score much, just 126 goals on the season. Only Columbus (110) and the Montreal Canadiens (120) have a lower goal total in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins begin play with 50 points, good for fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, tied with the New York Islanders.

Bound for the Bonnies

The Duquesne Dukes (13-5) are at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night (7 p.m.) for an Atlantic 10 showdown.

Duquesne (13-5, 3-2 A-10) is well-rested after a 92-80 win at St, Joseph’s on Jan. 11. That was the fourth time the Dukes have topped 90 points on the season. They did so just once a year ago, and that was a 98-93 triple-overtime loss to George Washington. At 76.0 points per game, Keith Dambrot’s team is the second-leading scoring squad in the Atlantic 10 behind St. Louis (76.6).

As for the Bonnies, they are 9-9 (5-5, A-10) on the season and are relying on defense. At 66.9 points per game allowed, Mark Schmidt’s club is 4th in the conference defensively. But they are averaging only 67.8 points per game, third from the bottom in the conference.

The Dukes are looking to buck some historical trends against their long-time rivals.

Duquesne lost at St. Bonaventure last year 81-55. This is the 130th game between the two in a series that dates to Feb. 13, 1920. St. Bonaventure is Duquesne’s most frequent all-time opponent. The Bonnies have won 16 of the past 19 and hold a 69-60 edge overall. Duquesne is 19-43 all-time on the road in the series.