J.J. Watt has some interesting quotes about his brother’s contract talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Christian Kirk is off the free-agent market before he ever got there. A former Penguin is going back to the Golden Knights as the two teams prepare to play Friday night in Las Vegas.

And there’s a ton of local college basketball to discuss. Some postseason tournaments are underway, while the regular season concludes for the men’s teams at Duquesne and Pitt.

All that in Friday’s “First Call.”

No more ‘hometahn’ discount

Pass rusher Maxx Crosby is getting a $35.5 million per year contract extension from the Las Vegas Raiders. Many are wondering what that means for T. J. Watt and his next deal in Pittsburgh.

His brother, J.J. Watt, just went on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday and said it might be near $40 million soon.

“That number’s gonna inch closer to (a) four in front of it than threes. So you’re gonna want to get that done earlier rather than later because the price isn’t going down,” J.J. Watt said.

Watt suggested Crosby was just the first of many pass rusher contracts that are about to be done, and each one may adjust the bar for what his brother is going to get. He also intimated that his brother would’ve settled for a lower amount if the Steelers had reworked his deal prior to last year.

“The earlier you get the deal done, the better deal you get. That’s just a fact,” J.J. Watt said. “That’s why, my personal belief, they should have done it last year because I think there was a hometown discount to be had last year. But now the longer you wait this year, you’ve got Micah (Parsons) coming up. Like you said, you got Aidan Hutchinson, you got Myles (Garrett). These guys are getting new deals.”

T.J. Watt has stated that he wants to be a Steeler his entire career. He is entering the final year of a contract extension that paid him $112 million with $80 million guaranteed back in 2021.

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Christian, oh the time has come

So much for Christian Kirk getting released. Instead, he’s getting traded.

There were reports Wednesday that the Jacksonville Jaguars receiver was going to be released. Instead, he ended up getting traded on Friday to the Houston Texans.

A lack of wide receiver depth hurt the Texans down the stretch. All they gave up to get Kirk was a 2026 seventh-round pick.

The Steelers were believed to be on the verge of acquiring Kirk in advance of November’s trade deadline, but he broke his collarbone on Oct. 27, ending his season. The club was also believed to have an interest in potentially signing him again if he had gotten to free agency next week. In fact, current Steelers DeShon Elliott and Patrick Queen started pitching a move to Pittsburgh to Kirk on social media Wednesday when news broke that he was about to be released.

Kirk had 27 catches for 379 yards and one touchdown in 2024.

Reilly’s return

When the Penguins take the ice against the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, a familiar face may be back on the other bench.

Former Penguin Reilly Smith is heading back to Vegas. He won a Stanley Cup there in 2023, scoring the Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 against the Florida Panthers.

Smith came to the Penguins the next year. He put up a relatively quiet 40 points in 76 games in 2023-24. Four times in six years as a Golden Knight, Smith broke the 50-point plateau. He was eventually dealt to the New York Rangers on July 1. This year, he had 29 points in 58 games with the Blue Shirts.

Thursday, he was sent back to Vegas in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a third-round draft pick in 2025.

Double duty

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team wasn’t alone when it came to winning a Horizon League postseason game at the UPMC Events Center on Thursday.

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Before the Colonials smoked Wright State 83-62, the women beat Northern Kentucky 70-57. Noa Givon had 23 points to lead all scorers.

The RMU women (15-15, 10-10) next play at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis at noon on Saturday against Green Bay (27-5, 19-1) in the Horizon League semifinals.

Duquesne’s women’s team also got a win in first-round play of the Atlantic 10 tournament in Virginia, beating Fordham 79-63. Jerni Kiaku led the way with 21 points.

Now the Dukes (19-11, 9-9) have a huge quarterfinal test against regular season champion Richmond (26-5, 17-1). The Spiders thumped the Dukes 82-58 on Feb. 9. That’s an 11 a.m. start Friday.

Wrapping up

While all those teams are already in postseason action, the Pitt and Duquesne men’s teams conclude their regular season campaigns Friday.

The Panthers (16-14) host Boston College (12-18, 4-15) to close out the year at 6 p.m. Both teams are struggling badly. The Eagles come in 2-7 since Feb. 5. They have lost three in a row. The only team worse than them in the ACC is last-place Miami at 2-17 in conference play.

Meanwhile, Pitt is 2-8 since Feb. 1. They have lost four in a row.

As for Duquesne (13-17, 8-9), the Dukes are at Saint Louis (17-13, 10-7) to conclude the regular season Saturday night at 8p.m. Dru Joyce III has the Dukes in ninth place of the A-10. The club is coming off a 71-62 defeat against first-place VCU on Tuesday.

The Billikens are in fifth place. They boast three of the top-10 scorers in the A-10. Gibson Jimmerson is third with 17.7 points per contest. Robby Avila is fifth at 17.3, and Isaiah Swope is ninth at 16.3.

Robert Morris’ Horizon League semifinal game is Monday against Oakland in Indianapolis at 7 p.m.

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