The Steelers will be coaching against a familiar face in Tampa Bay on Sunday. JuJu Smith-Schuster is trying to find a new home, while a former Steeler got some bad injury news.
The Penguins are in Chicago to skate against a sputtering Blackhawks club. And PPG Paints Arena will be hosting a hockey game of a different variety during the NHL All-Star Break.
All of that and more is in Tuesday’s “First Call.”
Boz is back
After a few misses early in the season, Chris Boswell appeared to be back in form Sunday against Indianapolis. The Steelers kicker nailed field goals of 48 and 54 yards. He also hit all four of his extra points.
Boswell had three misses over the first four weeks. But special teams coordinator Danny Crossman insisted he never had a concern.
“I’ve never wavered at all. He’s a true pro. He’s going to be fine,” Crossman said Monday.
Boswell, Crossman and the Steelers will be facing long-time former special teams coordinator Danny Smith on Sunday. He’s in charge of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicking units now. Smith had those duties in Pittsburgh from 2013-2025.
“Danny was here for a long time. The players have a lot more familiarity with Danny, and Danny has a lot of great familiarity with a lot of these players,” Crossman said Monday. “We’ll look at things and talk about things, just like we do every week with any common threads between personnel, coaches, what have you. He’s always done an outstanding job and (is) continuing to do a good job down in Tampa.”
A Central Catholic alum, Smith has former Steelers Miles Killebrew and Kenneth Gainwell with him in Tampa.
Bad break
Ex-Steeler Javon Hargrave tore an Achilles tendon on Sunday. The news came from Adam Schefter of ESPN on Monday after tests confirmed those fears from the Green Bay Packers.
Tests today confirmed that Green Bay Packers DT Javon Hargrave suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. https://t.co/kUGvsE0aiH
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2026
Hargrave will go on injured reserve for the rest of the year. He is now 33 years old. He was drafted by the Steelers in 2016 and played in Pittsburgh through the 2019 season.
Green Bay was Hargrave’s fifth organization. He was also with Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minnesota. The two-time Pro Bowler inked a two-year, $23 million contract with the Packers in March.
Meanwhile, Hargrave’s former Steelers teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster had a workout with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday.
The Vikings worked out veteran WR JuJu Smith-Schuster today.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 12, 2026
Some Steelers fans have suggested the Steelers contact Smith-Schuster about a return now that Michael Pittman Jr., Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson are all hurt.
Smith-Schuster last played in Pittsburgh in 2021. He was released by the New York Giants in August after a training camp look. In 2025, he caught 33 passes for 345 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City.
Tuesday tilt
The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-1) resume play Tuesday night after a few days off to recover from back-to-back contests this past weekend.
After splitting a pair of games against Columbus and Dallas, the Pens are in Chicago Tuesday night. Faceoff is at 8 p.m. Sidney Crosby and company are coming off a 2-1 shootout win over Dallas.
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Rickard Rakell in the shootout.
PIT: 2 | DAL: 1
#DALvsPIT #LetsGoPens #TexasHockey https://t.co/OAjtHDPnv4
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 11, 2026
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are struggling to begin the year. They only have one win in six tries. That has the team buried in last place in the Central Division.
Calgary, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Kings are the only teams in the NHL who are still winless. The Blackhawks have allowed 26 goals, the fourth-most in hockey. The team has only one power-play goal all season.
Chicago has missed the playoffs six years in a row. They’ll have a return visit to Pittsburgh on Dec. 8.
In the big barn
Penn State and Robert Morris University will play each other in a men’s hockey game at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m.
The game was already on each other’s schedule for Clearview Arena on Neville Island. But talks were underway to have the contest played in the NHL Arena for a while and were finally ironed out this week. RMU made an announcement on social media Monday afternoon.
RMU HOCKEY AT PPG PAINTS ARENA!????????
The Colonials will host Penn State at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, February 7‼️
????: https://t.co/PJjREmiG97
#BobbyMo https://t.co/wUJ60TxrrU
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) October 12, 2026
The clubs will play each other in State College on Tuesday, Oct. 20 as well. The last time RMU played a game there was in 2020 against the Nittany Lions. It was a 6-2 PSU win. It’ll be the 13th meeting between the clubs, with Penn State holding an 8-4 series advantage.
RMU opened its season against Big Ten power Wisconsin two weeks ago, falling to the fifth-ranked Badgers 4-2 and 1-0 in Madison. The Nittany Lions have lost their first two games as well, losing at 16th-ranked UConn 3-1 and at Sacred Heart 6-3.
The Colonials are at Miami (Oh.) on Thursday with a return game on Neville Island Saturday night. PSU next plays its home opener Friday against Quinnipiac.