Thursday’s “First Call” has a Lamar Jackson health update from Baltimore. DK Metcalf talks about his looming matchup with Cincinnati’s DJ Turner. Asante Samuel Sr. had some interesting quotes about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense after the franchise signed his son.

And Jameis Winston is replacing Russell Wilson as the quarterback of the New York Giants.

Look out for Lamar

Lamar Jackson is dealing with another injury. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback has a knee issue after helping his team beat Minnesota on Sunday.

“Some soreness coming out of the game,” head coach John Harbaugh said via the Associated Press. “He should be OK. I’m looking forward to practice tomorrow.”

Jackson missed three games because of a hamstring injury earlier this season. In his two games since his return, Jackson has thrown for five touchdowns and no interceptions. He has completed 35 of 52 passes for 380 yards and has run for 50.

The Ravens are 4-5, one game behind the Steelers for the AFC North lead. Those two teams play each other for the first time in Baltimore on Dec. 7.

Interesting timing

The Steelers just signed former Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. to help their thin depth in the secondary. He was with the Steelers for practice on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Samuel’s father had some less-than-flattering things to say about his son’s new team.

Asante Samuel Sr., a 10-year NFL veteran and two-time Super Bowl champion, currently has his own podcast called “Say What Needs To Be Said.” Apparently, what needed to be said this week is that the former All-Pro thinks that his son’s new team is being hurt by its current quarterback.

“Aaron Rodgers is too old,” Samuel said at 35:03 of this week’s edition of his video stream. “He doesn’t want to get tackled or hit like he used to back in the day. I think Aaron Rodgers is killing their chances.”

Samuel was also critical of DK Metcalf.

“Aaron Rodgers needs that wide receiver that can get open instantly. He doesn’t have that,” Samuel said. “This is a big adjustment for him because he always had that wide receiver that he could depend on. DK Metcalf, he’s just too slow. He doesn’t get going fast enough, and that isn’t going to be (sufficient) enough for Aaron Rodgers.”

Saying Metcalf is slow feels inaccurate to me. Metcalf isn’t slow. Is he the world’s best route runner, or particularly adept at getting himself open quickly? That may be more to Samuel’s point.

As far as his son goes, Samuel insisted he is over the neck ailment that resulted in his departure from the Chargers and that landing in Pittsburgh is a “good situation.”

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DK and DJ

Speaking of Metcalf, on Wednesday I asked him about his upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and specifically the battle with cornerback DJ Turner.

“He is a good player, looking forward to our matchup on Sunday. I know he’s been in the lab working since the last time we played each other,” Metcalf said. “Looking forward to lining up against him. Hopefully, he can follow me the whole game like he did last game. Looking forward to that matchup.”

In that first contest in Cincinnati last month, Metcalf had an early hookup with Rodgers that went for 39 yards. However, he only had two more catches for an additional 11 yards after that. Turner also had an interception that he ripped away from Metcalf.

That's an unbelievable interception by Bengals DB DJ Turner, WOW: pic.twitter.com/2gzotIeKWq

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) October 17, 2025

Turner has two interceptions and an NFL-leading 14 pass breakups this season.

Off the Russ Bus

Former Steeler Russell Wilson is heading back to the bench in New York. He’s going to back up Jameis Winston for the Giants (2-8) this week at MetLife Stadium against the Green Bay Packers (5-3-1).

Wilson was the starter to open the season. He lost the job to rookie Jaxson Dart. But now Dart is going to miss this game with a concussion, and New York has elected to go with Winston as the starter.

“Just grateful that I had this amazing opportunity,” Winston said upon learning he’d be the starting QB vs. Green Bay via The Athletic. “I’m so happy and grateful I get to be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants this week.”

Jameis Winston: "I've been waiting for this moment." pic.twitter.com/I45b6duGha

— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) November 12, 2025

Wilson went 3 of 7 passing for 45 yards, stepping in for Dart last week en route to a 24-20 loss to Chicago. This will be the first game for interim coach Mike Kafka. He is replacing Brian Daboll, who was fired Monday.

Winston was with the Cleveland Browns in 2024. He played in eight games, throwing for 2,121 yards, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was sacked 24 times.

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