In Wednesday’s “First Call,” if the Steelers decide they don’t want Devlin Hodges this offseason, someone else already does. Bud Dupree got snubbed from the Pro Bowl. And a reason to doubt the Tennessee Titans.

‘Duck’ to become a Canada goose?

If things go south in Pittsburgh for quarterback Devlin Hodges, he can always go north.

Hodges was claimed on the Canadian Football League negotiation list by the Ottawa Redblacks. Via TSN.ca, “CFL bylaws state that teams can claim exclusive CFL rights for up to 45 players by placing them on their negotiation lists. Of these 45 players, teams must reveal 10 names twice per year. Players can be added, removed, or traded from lists at any time.”

So, if after this season ends the Steelers decide “Duck” just had a nice run and it’s time to move on with Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and a quarterback to be named later, Ottawa now has Hodges’ rights if he wants to go to Canada instead of trying to find another job in the NFL.

Former Pitt pass rusher Ejuan Price is on that Ottawa list, too. Calgary claimed former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley (Baltimore Ravens). And former Steeler Keion Adams is on the Montreal Alouettes’ list.

The CFL starts June 13.

Bud snub

Five Steelers made the Pro Bowl.

Representing Pittsburgh at the 2020 #ProBowl:

? David DeCastro? Minkah Fitzpatrick? Cameron Heyward?Maurkice Pouncey? T.J. Watt

MORE: https://t.co/AEFGEArVaj pic.twitter.com/QbsaIZZUdp

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 18, 2019

Outside linebacker Bud Dupree isn’t on that list. He should be. He has 9.5 sacks. That’s more than either Baltimore’s Matthew Judon and Denver’s Von Miller, who got the nominations.

Dupree also has four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. More than those two.

If only one Steeler could make the Pro Bowl from the position, it should be T.J. Watt. But Dupree is almost as deserving.

Meanwhile, Maurkice Pouncey may have gotten a break making the team. It’s his eighth selection. And at least one scouting service thinks he’s overrated.

36 Centers have a higher grade than Pro Bowl C Maurkice Pouncey. There are 32 NFL teams. pic.twitter.com/h5Ztny6NrL

— PFF (@PFF) December 18, 2019

Pro Football Focus has always, for some reason, graded Pouncey well below everyone else. And suggesting he is the 37th-best center is a joke.

But based on how the offensive line has struggled this year, some of his low snaps in the shotgun, and the fact that Pouncey has missed two games with his suspension, maybe he isn’t deserving of Pro Bowl honors.

If Dupree had made it instead of him this year, that wouldn’t have bothered me.

Legacy with a Steelers connection

Legendary Iowa football coach Hayden Fry died at the age of 90 Tuesday.

He was credited with turning around an Iowa program that had been rudderless for years prior to his arrival in 1978. The Hawkeyes had not had a winning season since 1961, and he was their fourth head coach in nine years.

Fry won 143 games at Iowa. He coached the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten championships and three Rose Bowl appearances.

He also asked the school to revamp the team’s uniforms to look like the Steelers. “At the time, the best team in professional football was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their colors happened to be black and gold, the same as Iowa’s, so Hayden dressed his Hawkeyes like the Steelers,” wrote former sports information director George Wine.

Fry was inducted into college football’s Hall of Fame in 2003. Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Faulty footwork

If the Steelers do hold off the Tennessee Titans for the last playoff spot in the AFC, here’s one reason why the Titans may be kicking themselves this offseason.

They can’t kick. At all.

According to ProFootballTalk, “The Titans are 8-for-18 on field goals. If they don’t improve over the final two weeks of the season, they’ll be the first team since the 1987 Vikings to miss more field goals than they made.”

And keep in mind that Vikings team was part of a strike year.

One of the three kickers to struggle in Nashville this year is the current person holding the job, Ryan Succop.

Yeah that Ryan Succop. He’s just 1-for-6 for this year.

You may remember when he missed a certain kick that kept the Steelers out of the playoffs back in 2013.

Now, perhaps, karma may come into play.

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