First Call: NFL.com's low rating for Mitch Trubisky; ex-Steelers WR retires; Heinz Field name-change gets bad poll results

Thursday’s “First Call” features an unfavorable view of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Meanwhile, a former Steelers wide receiver is walking away from the game.

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson may make his season debut in Pittsburgh. Gerrit Cole had a huge night for the Yankees.

And Heinz Field’s new name is … well … hmm … is it really too late to bring back those ketchup bottles?

Not so flattering

NFL.com doesn’t have much faith in Mitchell Trubisky as the Steelers starting quarterback.

On the website’s season-opening QB index, the former Chicago Bear and Buffalo Bill ranks 30th among the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks entering his first season as Pittsburgh’s signal caller. Only Houston’s Davis Mills and Cleveland’s Jacoby Brissett are rated lower.

Here’s how writer Marc Sessler summed up Trubisky’s preseason: “Trubisky has looked the part for Pittsburgh leading up to Week 1. He toiled behind a Steelers offensive line that somehow looked more lost than last year’s. Mitch made the most of it, tossing crisp passes and dragging the offense out of dark corners with his legs. He’s your Week 1 starter and a team captain. I don’t think he’ll be a longtime featured member of this column, though, after rookie hometown sensation Kenny Pickett torched the field all August.”

I’m not exactly high on Trubisky either. But I think putting him at 30th is far too low. Daniel Jones (New York Giants), Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks), Joe Flacco (New York Jets) and Marcus Mariota (Atlanta Falcons) are all ranked in front of Trubisky.

But I’d take Trubisky in front of all of those QBs and maybe a few more.

Related:

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• Dead last? Above average? Varied rankings for Steelers’ Mitch Trubisky among NFL starting QBs

Sanders says good-bye

Emmanuel Sanders is retiring. The former Steelers wide receiver is hanging up his cleats after 13 NFL seasons.

The SMU product spent his first four seasons in Pittsburgh. He spent the next six in Denver before one-year stops in San Francisco, New Orleans and Buffalo.

Sanders collected three consecutive years with at least 76 catches and 1,000 yards from 2014-16. He finished his NFL career with 704 receptions, 9,245 receiving yards and 52 total touchdowns. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection, played in three Super Bowls and was part of the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 winning team.

Sanders had 161 catches, 2,030 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns with the Steelers from 2010-13.

No team signed Sanders on the open market this season. The 35-year-old wasn’t ready to make a formal announcement Wednesday, but ESPN.com reports that Sanders is telling them he has a television analyst job lined up.

Pittsburgh return?

As of now, it looks like Jets starting quarterback Zach Wilson may make his 2022 season debut in Pittsburgh during Week 4.

Last year’s second-overall draft pick suffered a knee injury on Aug. 16. Reserve quarterback Joe Flacco will run the Jets offense for at least the first three weeks.

“Can it change? Sure, I’m always going to leave that door open,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday. “I’m the eternal optimist. But we are going to make sure both mind and body are 110% and make sure we do right by him … We feel like, talking to the doctors and everyone, it’s going to be that Pittsburgh week.”

That’s a Sunday afternoon game at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 2.

Wilson suffered a bone bruise and torn meniscus, which was repaired via arthroscopic surgery in Los Angeles on Aug. 16. It’s the same knee in which he sprained a ligament last year that sidelined him for four games.

Flacco is 10-11 against the Steelers with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 21 games. He has a passer rating of 84.6 against them.

Flacco opens 2021 at home against the Baltimore Ravens. The former Pitt quarterback spent his first 11 years in Baltimore.

Are you (Acri)sure?

The Pennbets.com website is publishing the results of a survey it conducted in late August through an internet marketing company called Digital Third Coast. The goal was to determine the most — and least — identifiable and appealing stadium names in the NFL among a pool of more than 1,000 people.

Guess which one rated among the worst.

The Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium ranked 31st among identifiable stadium names. Just 6% of the 1,000 NFL fans polled got the name right. Only Kansas City’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium finished worse at 2%. Green Bay’s Lambeau Field got a 58% correct response rate to lead all stadiums.

Less than 70% could name 26 of the 32 NFL team stadiums. Ninety percent could not remember the name of the Empower Field at Mile High (Denver Broncos), TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville Jaguars), Acrisure Stadium and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Acrisure Stadium was voted the worst name in the league among all NFL fans. And within the Pittsburgh fan base, Steelers fans gave the new stadium name the lowest approval rating and came in highest when it came to the percentage of fans who want the stadium name changed.

Rack ‘em up

The Cole-train was chugging down the tracks Wednesday night in the Bronx.

Former Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole tallied 14 strikeouts in a 7-1 New York Yankees win over the Minnesota Twins. And Cole did that in just 6 ⅔ innings. So that means 14 of the 20 batters Cole retired went down on strikes.

Filthy 14. @GerritCole45 pic.twitter.com/fMy5wEMq0S

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 8, 2022

Cole now leads Major League Baseball with 218 strikeouts. The Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Twins Wednesday, winning 5-4 in Game 1. They have a five-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays atop the American League East.