In Monday’s “First Call,” the Jets are staying quiet about Aaron Rodgers’ characterization of their franchise. Former Colorado players with Pittsburgh Steelers ties are not quiet about Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter getting their numbers retired.

Also, Rodgers’ potential signing with the Steelers is getting a thumbs-up from another New York athlete.

And one ex-Pirates pitcher is off to a nice start with his new team, while another clearly is not.

Bristling Buff

Former Steeler Chad Brown is pushing back on the retiring of two numbers at Colorado.

Via SteelersNow.com, the Buffalo alum says the recent decision to retire the numbers of Shedeur Sanders (No. 2) and Travis Hunter (No. 12) is a slap in the face to those who were on the national championship team in 1990 who haven’t had their numbers retired as of yet.

Many are complaining that head coach Deion Sanders put his son’s number in the ranks out of nepotism as opposed to merit given the history of those who might have longer resumes at Colorado but have yet to be honored.

Former Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart also hasn’t received the honor, despite leading the Buffs to two Bowl games and two top 10 finishes.

Only four numbers have been retired in CU’shistory,prior to this decision: Byron White’s No. 24, Joe Romig’s No. 67, No. 11 for Bobby Anderson and the No. 19 of Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam.

White became a first-round draft choice of the (then) Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938 and eventually went on to become a Supreme Court Justice. He is also in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Celebrity endorsement

While some Steelers fans are leery of Aaron Rodgers becoming the team’s quarterback, Tyrone Taylor is not.

The New York Mets outfielder is a big Steelers fan. And as mined over at Steelers Depot, Taylor told WFAN’s Danielle McCartan that he wants the franchise to sign Rodgers.

“Idon’t know about the chances, but I’d be thankful if he was there. He’d help the team a lot,” Taylor said. “He didn’t do too well with the Jets while he was here. But I still think he’s got something left in him. He just had an (Achilles tendon) injury a few years ago. Coming back from that is tough.”

This is Taylor’s second year with the Mets after playing five years in Milwaukee. So he saw Rodgers’ last two MVP seasons in 2020 and 2021 up close in Wisconsin.

Staying mum

Speaking of Rodgers and the Jets, the franchise has yet to comment on his evisceration of how his dismissal was handled.

On Pat McAfee’s show Thursday, Rodgers panned the Jets for how they treated him during his release. Rodgers complained that he flew across the country on his dime to meet with new head coach Aaron Glenn about the future. Yet they had a brief meeting that lasted a matter of moments. Then he was told the Jets were going in a different direction.

“I felt like there wasn’t an ample amount of respect in that meeting,” Rodgers said. “I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised based on some of the things I saw over the two years. But I am thankful for my time with the Jets and disappointed it didn’t work out better on the field.”

However, as ProFootballTalk.com pointed out, not a single person from the Jets coaching staff or front office has responded on the record (or off it) in the wake of Rodgers’ comments.

The next time Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey speak will be either in advance of or after this week’s NFL Draft.

More sports

• Madden Monday: Aaron Rodgers 'lost credibility' during recent 'Pat McAfee Show' appearance
• 'I understand': Andrew McCutchen hates to hear Pirates fans' chants but gets frustration
• NFL Draft preview: Son of former Steelers player, Carson Bruener trying to make name at ILB

Priester’s path

Former Pirate Quinn Priester is scheduled to be on the mound Monday night for the National League Central rival Milwaukee Brewers. He is looking for a third straight strong start.

On April 7, Priester was traded by the Boston Red Sox to Milwaukee in exchange for minor-league outfielder Yophery Rodriguez, a competitive balance round selection in the 2025 MLB draft, and a player to be named later, or cash considerations.

Featured Local Businesses

More local businesses

Since then he has pitched twice, going five innings in both games, and has allowed just one earned run. On April 15, he was credited with a win as the Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-0.

Monday, Priester and the Brewers face Robbie Ray and the San Francisco Giants in California. Ray is 3-0 with a 4.19 ERA. San Francisco is 14-8. That’s good for third place in the stacked N.L. West, two games behind division-leading San Diego.

The Brewers are 12-10, a game behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the Central.

Ground Chuck

Former Pirate Charlie Morton was the first of many victims for the Baltimore Orioles in that 24-2 blowout they suffered at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

The former Bucco got the start and yielded seven earned runs in 2⅓ innings. The next four Orioles pitchers who took the mound also gave up at least four runs apiece. Morton is now 0-5 with an ERA of 10.89. Cincinnati scored in seven of the nine innings and knocked out 25 hits.

Noelvi Marte pushed the Reds run total to 20 with this grand slam in the eighth inning. He had seven RBIs and five hits on the day.

Via the Associated Press, Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win at Colorado on May 19, 1999. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to Texas on Aug. 22, 2007.