As we all monitor the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation, Monday’s “First Call” has some interesting stats surrounding Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers. We’re also tracking the Eastern Conference playoff situation for the Penguins. A former Robert Morris Colonial had a shining moment in the NCAA Tournament.

And a pair of college hoops coaches with Pittsburgh ties are still dancing in the same bracket during the Sweet 16.

Negative numbers

Here are a few wild stats about Aaron Rodgers and former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields.

According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Fields and Rodgers are eating up 16% of the New York Jets’ salary cap for this year (roughly $48 million). That’s all in dead money cap charges.

In fact, as Cimini points out, the Jets are going to pay Geno Smith $3.3 million to be their starting QB. They are going to pay Justin Fields $8 million to play for the Kansas City Chiefs.

As Cimini said of Fields, “A chunk of that is the Fields cap hit ($20 million), resulting from (the March 16) trade to the Chiefs for a 2027 sixth-round pick. It would’ve cost $23 million to keep him on the roster, but there was no chance of that happening after a disastrous 2025 performance. The Jets wound up eating most of Fields’ $10 million guarantee in 2026, which was necessary to facilitate the trade.”

Fields is heading to Kansas City to back up Patrick Mahomes. However, if Mahomes’ knee injury isn’t 100% by the time Week 1 hits, Fields might be the team’s starter. Should that happen, the Elias Sports Bureau claims that Fields would be the first person in NFL history to be the Opening Day QB for four different teams four years in a row.

Fields was the Steelers’ Week 1 starter in 2024. The year before that, he was the man under center for the Bears. Last year, it was the Jets. In 2026, it could be the case in Kansas City as well.

Holding on

The Penguins got popped by the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, on Sunday. Meanwhile, the other two teams that are battling for Metropolitan Division playoff position behind Carolina faced off against one another in New York.

The Islanders ended up shutting out Columbus, 1-0. Bo Horvat scored the game’s only goal 85 seconds into the first period.

That goal held up the rest of the way, because New York goalie Ilya Sorokin stopped all 26 Columbus shots he faced for a shutout. That was his NHL-leading seventh of the season.

So, coming out of Sunday’s action with all the top teams in the division playing each other, that means the Metro has Carolina leading with 96 points. Pittsburgh is in second with 86, one better than Columbus and New York, who are tied with 85 points. The Islanders have played one more game (71) to this point than the other three teams.

The Islanders and Boston (86 points) are currently the two wild-card teams in the Eastern Conference. Detroit (84) is the first team out of the draw at the moment.

The only game in the NHL scheduled for Monday night is in the Eastern Conference as surging Ottawa (81 points) takes on the New York Rangers (65 points). The Senators have won seven of their last nine games.

 

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• Tim Benz: A month from the NFL Draft, Steelers’ approach to free agency crystalizes selection strategy
• Previewing the Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski earns final spot in starting rotation
 

Playing hero

The defending national champions are done in March Madness. After 27 wins this season, the Florida Gators are out.

They lost as the No. 1 seed in the South Region to ninth-seeded Iowa in the Round of 32 by a final score of 73-72.

Former Robert Morris star Alvaro Folgueiras hit a game-winning 3-pointer with just over 4 seconds remaining.

Folgueiras ended up with 14 points and five rebounds on the day. He also had 14 in the first round against Clemson on Friday. The 6-foot-10 junior won the Horizon League player of the year award last year before transferring to Iowa this season.

This is Iowa’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999. They play Nebraska on Thursday. The Cornhuskers have never been to the Sweet 16.

Potential Pittsburgh showdown

There are a few more Pittsburgh ties in Thursday’s Sweet 16. Before Iowa and Nebraska tip off at 7:30 p.m. in Houston’s South Region, the West Region gets underway in San Jose.

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The 11th-rated Texas Longhorns take on second-seeded Purdue at 7:10 p.m. The Longhorns upset Gonzaga on Sunday, 74-68. That was on top of winning a Round of 64 game over BYU, and a First Four contest in Dayton over N.C. State.

Texas is coached by Blackhawk product Sean Miller. The Pitt grad has now reached the Sweet 16 nine times as a coach. He went three times with Xavier and five times with Arizona.

Arkansas is also in the Sweet 16, coached by Moon’s John Calipari. The Clarion grad has his Razorbacks in the second weekend of the tournament by virtue of wins over Hawaii, 97-78, and High Point, 94-88.

Guard Darius Acuff already has 60 total points in the tournament.

Arkansas now takes on Miller’s former program, top-seeded Arizona, in the West region after Texas plays Purdue. If Calipari and Miller both win, their teams could face one another in the Elite 8 on Saturday.