Thursday’s “First Call” clears the air about Cam Heyward’s cryptic social media post. A former Pittsburgh Steeler is accusing Neil O’Donnell of “throwing” Super Bowl XXX. Michael Vick is still living down one aspect of his days in Pittsburgh and New York.

Plus, an ex-Steeler receiver has decided to retire.

Closing the book

Comments made by Joey Porter on Cam Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast regarding Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison have dominated the news cycle of late.

But another news item from that podcast was buried in the post. Heyward clarified his “closing the book” social media post from last week.

Some took that as Heyward suggesting he was going to retire or that he knew his Steelers career was ending.

But the 36-year-old veteran defensive lineman insists he was just trying to say that he was “closing the book on the season” after his Super Bowl media coverage.

“We’re gonna close the book on this season,” Heyward said on his “Not Just Football” podcast. “I closed the book on this season as well.”

Heyward has one more year left on his contract with the Steelers. During Super Bowl week on Jim Rome’s show, he expressed a desire to remain in Pittsburgh for his entire playing career.

What’s worse?

In one sense, having a former teammate say that you aren’t a “good person” is as bad as it can get.

Well, unless a former teammate is accusing you of tanking a Super Bowl. At least Porter didn’t accuse Roethlisberger of that.

However, former Steeler Emerson Martin is saying that about Neil O’Donnell. The retired lineman was on “The Neil Haley Show,” and flat out accused O’Donnell of throwing Super Bowl XXX.

“Nothing against Neil O’Donnell, but I do believe he threw that Super Bowl,” Martin said. “Neil’s perfect two passes went to (Larry) Brown.”

Martin, who was on the practice squad at the time, was referencing Brown’s two picks that earned him Super Bowl MVP in that game, which we recently relived in a 30th anniversary retrospective of the game at “Breakfast With Benz.”

In that piece, ex-Steeler Chad Brown refuted the game-fixing allegations that have never amounted to any evidence despite three decades of angry grumbling from bitter Steelers fans.

“If you take those two plays away where (Larry) Brown returned those two interceptions inside the 10-yard line, (those are) two touchdowns that they converted in that game, and they would have been totally dominated by us, and we would be talking about a different story,” Martin insisted. “We should have won that game. We were the better team that day. We played better, with the exception of two plays. Those two plays turned everything around.”

Martin said he was always dubious of O’Donnell because the rest of the team “got on a plane to go back to Pittsburgh and he got in a limo with his agent.”

Haley followed up by asking Martin if he felt, because NFL dollars weren’t as outlandish back then as they are now, that O’Donnell lost the game intentionally and got paid off.

Martin suddenly couched his statements.

“I don’t know if he got paid, but he didn’t play for us,” Martin said.

About a month after the Super Bowl, O’Donnell signed with the New York Jets for $25 million.

 

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Bad bumblebees

Former Steelers quarterback Michael Vick joined Carmelo Anthony’s “7 pm In Brooklyn” podcast recently.

They were joking about his appearance in the Steelers bumblebee throwback jersey when he wore No. 2 in Pittsburgh back in 2015.

The decision was made on the show to induct Vick’s No. 2 bumblebee into the “Nasty Jersey Hall of Fame.”

Vick admitted he was never really fond of wearing No. 2.

“It looks like you are trying to do something. But you really aren’t doing anything,” he lamented.

Vick also said he wasn’t wild about wearing No. 1 when he was a New York Jet. He wanted No. 7, but he never felt comfortable asking Geno Smith to switch.

Hanging ’em up

Former Steeler Miles Boykin is retiring. The 29-year-old wide receiver has decided to call it a career.

The former special teams standout made the announcement on Instagram.

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Boykin began his career in Baltimore and lasted three years with the Ravens, 2019-21. He then caught five passes for 38 yards over two seasons with the Steelers.

From there, Boykin bounced around from the New York Giants to the Seattle Seahawks and eventually the Chicago Bears, but was never on an active roster.

Boykin had been the 99th overall pick out of Notre Dame in the 2020 draft.