First Call: Update on T.J. Watt's injured finger sounds nasty; a 'Fire Canada' chant at the Penguins game?

Wednesday’s “First Call” features a gnarly update on the finger injury suffered by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt.

Joey Porter Jr. goes in-depth on his first career interception. The Steelers’ next opponent made a trade.

And we have some NHL-opening gambling lines.

Dislocated digit

Not much attention was paid to news that T.J. Watt suffered a finger injury during Sunday’s 17-10 win against the Baltimore Ravens.

Maybe there should have been more. Because, as it turns out, the injury is pretty nasty.

According to a social media post from the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Watt’s finger was “badly dislocated,” and he “tore multiple ligaments.” However, Pelissero added that Watt is not expected to miss time after this week’s bye.

#Steelers star T.J. Watt suffered a badly dislocated finger and tore multiple ligaments in Sunday's win over Baltimore, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

Watt popped it back in and kept playing — and the injury won't keep the DPOY candidate off the field after this week's bye. pic.twitter.com/RyG5ZTIbUB

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 10, 2023

Pelissero’s NFL Network colleague Ian Rapoport added to the post, stating that Watt may need surgery after the season if the finger doesn’t heal properly. Watt appeared to suffer the injury in the second quarter. He still wound up with two sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.

Tough crowd

If you thought that was ugly, did you hear the crowd at the Penguins game Tuesday? It broke into a “Fire Canada” chant.

A “Fire Canada” chant has broken out here at the Penguins game pic.twitter.com/CeztxYWpv4

— Jenna Harner (@JennaHarner11) October 11, 2023

Note the scoreboard. That happened, and the Pens were winning 1-0 at the time. Tough crowd.

via GIPHY

I didn’t notice any “Fi-re Au-stin” chants when they blew a 2-0 lead, though.

Indeed, Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada isn’t even safe from criticism at a hockey game. Then again, his name is “Canada.” So, I guess that fits.

Frankly, I’m on board with this. Whenever the Penguins power play goes wrong, instead of yelling “shooooot,” everyone should bust out “Fi-re Can-a-da.”

Hey, I get it. Since Mike Sullivan never holds anyone accountable on the man-up’s first unit, someone needs to suffer the consequences. Why not Canada?

Hands team

So what did Joey Porter Jr. like most about his interception Sunday against the Ravens? The simple act of catching the ball.

“Going into the draft, there was speculation that I couldn’t catch. I didn’t like that around my name. The fact that I had a chance to prove that against a good wide receiver in OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr.) and an MVP quarterback like Lamar Jackson in a crucial moment was perfect for me,” Porter told me Tuesday.

The Penn State product got 28 defensive snaps Sunday, the most he’s had so far in his rookie season. The North Allegheny graduate also had a bit of a reputation for being too grabby while playing in college, something scouts feared would translate into penalties at the NFL level. Thus far, though, that hasn’t been the case.

“The refs will talk to me here and there. They’ll tell me what they see, what they don’t see. So far, I haven’t had any refs tell me I’m doing a bad job at (making illegal contact downfield),” Porter said. “I may get a warning here and there, but nothing crucial.”

Porter has played 86 defensive snaps without a flag.

More sports

• Penguins give up 4 unanswered goals, drop opener to Blackhawks
• Steelers notes: Kenny Pickett, team in much better place than when last year’s bye hit
• Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. may have to wait a bit longer before making 1st NFL start

Making moves

After the bye, the Steelers visit the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams made a trade Tuesday, shipping wide receiver Van Jefferson to the Atlanta Falcons.

The move shouldn’t come as a surprise after former All-Pro Cooper Kupp returned to the lineup for the first time since the start of the season. He had been dealing with a hamstring injury and was recovering from ankle surgery last year. Kupp had eight catches for 118 yards in his debut, a 23-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Kupp was on the shelf, receivers Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell blossomed, and Jefferson became expendable. Jefferson played just two snaps as a result and wasn’t targeted last week against the Eagles.

The teams will also swap sixth- and seventh-round picks in the 2025 draft as part of the trade. The Rams get the Falcons’ sixth-rounder, and Atlanta gets a seventh from the Rams in addition to Jefferson.

Have some fun with it

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is rehabbing his torn Achilles tendon at a rehab facility in California. Apparently, so is Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins.

Rodgers was doing his weekly interview on the “Pat McAfee Show” when Dobbins crashed it.

“You’re not working! You’re on TV talking on the phone,” Dobbins yelled as he busted into the room.

WHAT'S UP @Jkdobbins22..

"This guy isn't working" #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/PCpJgeSzbt

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 10, 2023

Dobbins had surgery a few days after Rodgers had his procedure in the wake of his “Monday Night Football” injury in Week 1.

This is the second season-ending injury that Dobbins has been forced to rehab. He missed the 2021 season after suffering an ACL injury during the final game of the preseason.

Final bets

BetOnline.ag released its final lines before the NHL’s opening games faced off Tuesday night. Among some notable Pittsburgh related wagers:

• The Penguins point total was posted at over-under 96½. It opened at 101½ last season. The team finished with 91.

• Two Penguins appeared on the Hart Trophy list for the NHL MVP award. Sidney Crosby is a plus-6600 long shot, 18th overall. If you really want to swing big, Erik Karlsson is at plus-20,000. He is also tied for ninth to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman at plus-2000. Cale Makar is the Norris favorite at plus-200. Connor McDavid is atop the Hart contenders at minus-150.

• Mike Sullivan is way down the chart at plus-2500 to win the Jack Adams Coach of the Year trophy. Goalie Tristan Jarry is at plus-5000 to claim the Vezina.

• West Mifflin’s Logan Cooley ended up third on the odds board for the Calder Trophy at plus-900. He was behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard — an overwhelming favorite to win NHL Rookie of the Year — at minus-135 favorite and New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes at plus-700.