Wednesday’s “First Call” has an interesting quote from Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy about quarterbacks. The Steelers may have another trade partner in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

NHL television ratings look good. The Penguins have some history on their side when it comes to facing 0-2 deficits.

And there are a few Robert Morris basketball notes to pass along as well.

Three’s company

And four is not a crowd.

At least that’s how Steelers coach Mike McCarthy views his team’s quarterback situation. McCarthy said Tuesday that he would be fine with the idea of adding a fourth quarterback to the room at some point this offseason.

“I really enjoy working with Mason (Rudolph) and Will (Howard). However it shakes out, I believe in having three. I’ve (had) two just a few times in my life, but it was Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, so that’s a luxury to be in that spot. But I believe in having three. Potentially, we’d love to have four if we can make one work on the practice squad,” McCarthy said.

Right now, the Steelers have Rudolph and Howard on the roster. The front office still seems to be presuming that Rodgers will sign a contract and be back with the club in 2026, and it sure sounds like McCarthy is open to the idea of drafting a fourth signal-caller sometime this week.

If they draft someone like Ty Simpson out of Alabama in the first or second round, it may be Howard who gets bumped to the practice squad.

They could also draft a prospect on the third day. College QBs Carson Beck (Miami, Fla.), Drew Allar (Penn State), Taylen Green (Arkansas) and Cole Payton (North Dakota State) all visited Pittsburgh during the pre-draft process.

Talk to Tampa

I’ve made my opinions known. I really want to see the Steelers trade up on draft night. Hopefully, they move up from pick No. 21 to get a high-quality wide receiver or tackle.

Or, I’d be content with them sticking at No. 21 and trying to trade back into the first round, or up significantly in Round 2.

We’ve already told you about Miami being interested in potentially moving down. Now another Florida team may be willing to bump back for the right price.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly willing to discuss such a move. That’s coming from Albert Breer at SI.com.

“Mark the Buccaneers down as another team looking to move down on Thursday night, from their perch at No. 15. And I think they’re positioned to pull it off,” Breer posted on Tuesday. “Behind them, you have the Lions at 17, Panthers at 19, Steelers at 21, Eagles at 23, Browns at 24 and Bears at 25 as teams that might need tackle help. And with a run on the position potentially looming over that alley of picks, the Bucs could give someone the opportunity to jump the line. Which, I think, is something to keep an eye on as we draw closer.”

ESPN.com has Francis Mauigoa (Miami, Fla.), Monroe Freeling (Georgia), Kaydyn Proctor (Alabama), Spencer Fano (Utah) and Caleb Lomu (Utah) as tackles in their top-30 overall picks.

It is possible the Steelers could try to trade up for one of those players, then hope the wide receiver market hasn’t been picked clean by the time they roll around at No. 53 in the second round.

Been done before

The Penguins are down 0-2 in their best-of-7 first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Faceoff for Game 3 is at 7 pm in Philly.

Penguins historian Bob Grove outlined the five times in Pens history when the club has come back from a two-game playoff deficit.

As Grove points out, each of those comebacks occurred with Penguins teams that at least reached a conference final. This team isn’t that good.

Also, the 1996 team was the only one of those five to come back from a 0-2 hole after dropping the first two at home. That’s the mountain they have to climb this year as well.

In 2012, the Penguins lost the first two home games to the Flyers, then lost Game 3 in Philadelphia, before eventually succumbing to the Flyers in Game 6.

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The Flyers polished off the Penguins in five games in 1997 after building a 3-0 lead, with the first two wins occurring at the CoreStates Center.

Stick around

If the Penguins manage to stay alive in the postseason, it sure sounds like a lot of people will be watching them.

The NHL is pumping its own tires over recent television ratings. According to the league, NHL telecasts on ESPN networks were up 30% year over year across 54 games on ABC and ESPN.

The league’s public relations social media is also boasting that the 2025-26 ratings were up 25% from 2024-25 on all platforms combined. That makes this season the most-watched since the NHL split its rights between Turner and ESPN.

Specifically on TNT, the numbers were up 21%. Perhaps it’s a post-Olympic bump. Maybe it’s the blend of rising stars skating with long-time legends such as Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

Whatever the case, for the NHL’s sake, hopefully the postseason is as compelling as the regular season was, especially with that wild Eastern Conference playoff race that kept so many cities engaged until the last week of the year.

Catching up with the Colonials

There are a few noteworthy basketball items from Robert Morris’ campus.

The women’s basketball team is landing a former Duquesne Duke in the transfer portal. It’s Mackenzie Blackford. The guard from Ohio averaged 10.6 points in 2025-26 and made 36% of her three-pointers over the past two seasons. She’s going to be a junior with 64 games of D-1 experience.

On the men’s side, 2024-25 Horizon League player of the year Alvaro Folgueiras is going to Louisville.

The ex-Colonial played for Iowa this year, averaging 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds. He also hit a game-winning shot to stun No. 1 Florida in the Round of 32 in last month’s NCAA Tournament. Folgueiras averaged 11 points per game in NCAA Tournament play.

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LISTEN: Tim Benz and Chris Adamski talk about the NFL Draft and Aaron Rodgers.