Friday’s “First Call” wraps up the week with news that complicates the Aaron Rodgers storyline. The Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on a young, project quarterback they liked. An ex-Steelers receiver is heading to Chicago.

The Pirates are bracing for the New York Yankees’ offense on Opening Day, and the Penguins have another tough test on Saturday.

Money matters

For quite a while, there has been a belief that Aaron Rodgers was on board with the financial terms of the Steelers’ contract offer to him and that the only remaining hurdle to clear before he signed was simply determining whether or not he wanted to play the 2025 season in Pittsburgh.

But during an appearance on FS 1’s “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd, “The Athletic’s” Dianna Russini cast some doubt on that angle of this ongoing saga.

“Usually it’s money,” Russini said. “Financials are always part of it. He does not need to sign and take some cheap deal. He knows the Steelers need him. Do I think he was going to be willing to take less to play for a team that he thinks is a Super Bowl-caliber team, like the Minnesota Vikings? Absolutely. But I think this situation is different. There’s gonna be a number here that’s gonna make Aaron happy. And I just don’t know if Pittsburgh is there yet.”

That’s quite a different spin than the story that was advanced by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network on March 27.

That’s when he appeared on Jim Rome’s show and said that the deal between Rodgers and the Steelers had “been in place, contract-wise, for weeks. They’ve discussed parameters. This is not going to be a financial issue at all for Aaron Rodgers.”

Pelissero also insisted that if any deal gets done, it’ll just be for one year.

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Milton on the move

Many Steelers fans had an interest in New England Patriots reserve quarterback Joe Milton. Throughout this offseason, he was rumored to be an option in NFL trade circles for a team that may be looking for a developmental quarterback.

It turns out the Steelers shared that level of intrigue. Via Jordan Schultz of Fox, the Steelers were one of at least five teams to show interest in acquiring Milton. However, New England eventually traded him to Dallas on Thursday.

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According to Schultz, the Pats had better options than the one they got from Dallas. But that’s where Milton wanted to go, so they sent him there instead. It’s not clear if Pittsburgh offered one of those better options.

Now that Cooper Rush is a Baltimore Raven, Milton and former West Virginia Mountaineer Will Grier will back up Dak Prescott with the Cowboys.

A Tennessee Volunteer alum, Milton was a sixth-round pick in Foxborough last year. He appeared in one game last season (a 23-16 Week 18 win over Buffalo), completing 22 of his 29 attempts for 241 yards and a touchdown. He ran for a touchdown as well.

The Cowboys gave up a compensatory fifth-round pick while getting back a seventh-rounder from New England to complete the Milton trade.

Boykin a Bear

A former Steeler was part of a wave of signings by the Chicago Bears on Thursday. Via ProFootballTalk.com, Miles Boykin signed with the team after spending 2024 on the Seahawks’ practice squad.

The wide receiver has not appeared in a game since 2023 when he was with the Steelers. Mainly a special teams player, the Notre Dame product logged 316 special teams plays in 17 games.

In his career, the 28-year-old has totaled 38 receptions for 498 yards, seven touchdowns along with 17 special teams tackles.

Boykin will head the Windy City along with safety Shaun Wade and quarterback Case Keenum. They both inked deals with the Bears on Thursday as well.

’Damn the torpedoes!’

Those New York Yankees and their torpedo bats are coming to Pittsburgh on fire.

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The Bronx Bombers hit three more homers Thursday to close out their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 9-7 win.

Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm all homered. For Judge, that was his fifth already in just six games for the Yankees.

The Yanks lead Major League Baseball with 22 home runs. They lead the American League in runs scored with 53. They also have MLB’s best slugging percentage (.649) and best OPS (1.006).

They come to PNC Park for the Pirates home opener Friday afternoon (4:12 p.m.) with a 4-2 record. The Pirates are 2-5. The Pirates’ Mitch Keller will face Max Fried in the first of a three-game series.

Central figures

After taking the hottest team in hockey to overtime Thursday night, the Penguins now have to skate with one of the best teams in the NHL.

Mike Sullivan’s team visits Dallas for a Saturday afternoon faceoff (3 p.m.). The Stars have 104 points, good for second in the Central Division, four behind first-place Winnipeg.

Meanwhile, the Blues are fourth in the division with 91 points. They are currently in a wild card spot and just beat the Penguins 5-4 in overtime for consecutive victory No. 11.

The Stars have won seven straight, including a 5-1 victory over Nashville. Twenty-one-year-old Wyatt Johnston was one of five goal scorers.

That’s 31 goals from Johnston, second on the team. Jason Robertson has the most on the roster with 33.

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