First Call: Former Steelers QB still bullish on Aaron Rodgers; ex-Steelers CB signs with Jaguars

Monday’s “First Call” features a former Pittsburgh Steeler who may be on the other sideline Saturday night in the preseason opener.

A former Steelers quarterback has faith in how Aaron Rodgers might be in Pittsburgh this year. The Pirates come back to PNC Park licking their wounds after an embarrassing series loss in Colorado. We check in on the Buccos, who were recently traded.

And we have a big announcement at “Breakfast With Benz” for the start of the football season.

See you again soon

A former Steelers cornerback has signed with Jacksonville. Levi Wallace inked a contract over the weekend to join the Jaguars just days before the teams are scheduled to meet in the preseason opener at 7 p.m. Saturday in North Florida.

That news came from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Saturday.

Veteran CB Levi Wallace, most recently with the #Broncos, is signing with #Jaguars today, source said. Some veteran help. pic.twitter.com/7IfTMvdJoE

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 2, 2025

Wallace most recently was with the Denver Broncos. He played in 13 games there last season. Prior to that, he had been a Steeler for two seasons, intercepting six passes between 2022-23.

Wallace’s career started with the Buffalo Bills in 2018. Now, in Jacksonville, he’ll be in a secondary that also features first-round pick Travis Hunter, Jarrian Jones, Tyson Campbell and Jourdan Lewis at cornerback.

Rodgers review

Former Steelers quarterback Jim Miller has been with Sirius XM’s “Movin’ The Chains” show since 2013. He and cohost Pat Kirwin were in Latrobe last week for two days of Steelers practice. Miller joined me on the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast in advance of the Friday night practice in Latrobe to share his thoughts on Aaron Rodgers joining the Steelers.

He believes Rodgers looks better than he did last year with the New York Jets.

“I can just tell, just from practice (Thursday), it’s a lot better,” Miller said. “The ball is coming out of his hand. I think he’s a year healthier. And I just think he’s challenging the defense. … I saw a quarterback who really looked on point (Thursday) at Saint Vincent College.”

Miller insists that Rodgers could still be better than what the Steelers got from Russell Wilson last year — even when Wilson was performing well when he took over from Justin Fields in Game 7.

“I think he does look better than that. I do think he is healthier — not that you want him running around and doing all those things,” Miller said. “He’s going to be great from the pocket, and he can buy time if he needs to shuffle in the pocket to get the ball out of his hand. The timing, I think the rhythm, I think the accuracy and how he delivers the ball to players. … He’s very aware of all those things. I saw a quarterback who had had a lot of command of this offense already.”

Granted, Miller was speaking in advance of some offensive struggles for the first-team unit Friday night. But he still seems to think Rodgers will be a step up from what the Steelers got from Wilson a year ago, even when Wilson was at his best.

I’m more skeptical. But if Rodgers is healthy all year, Miller may be onto something.

More sports

• Madden Monday: Steelers could 'talk themselves into (Will) Howard being the guy' in 2026
• Mason Rudolph enjoying return to Saint Vincent, chance to play again for Steelers
• Steelers linebacker Mark Robinson gets audition at fullback in goal-line drill

Rocky return

We’ll see what the reception — and the attendance — is like at PNC Park for the Pirates after their painful series in Colorado. Not only did the Bucs lose two of three to the woeful Rockies, but fans are bitter over how general manager Ben Cherington approached the trade deadline.

Now the team comes home to host the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds this week. Don Kelly’s team recently swept the Giants out west before struggling in Denver. Since then, the Giants went to New York and took two of three from the Mets. On Sunday, they won 12-4, thanks in part to a bomb of a homer from Rafael Devers.

Rafael Devers launches a NO-DOUBT homer ???? pic.twitter.com/Lrp0kcVQ76

— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2025

MLB.com lists Justin Verlander against Johan Oviedo as the likely pitching matchup. Verlander is 5-2 lifetime with a 3.36 ERA against the Pirates. Oviedo returns to the mound for Pittsburgh after a long absence.

Oviedo needed Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in December 2023. He missed all of 2024 recovering from the procedure. The 27-year-old was hoping for a return early this season. But suffered a lat muscle injury in March.

New look

Bailey Falter (7-5, 3.73 ERA) pitches his first game with Kansas City after being traded there by the Pirates last week.

Falter’s debut with the Royals will take place at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. The Royals have won four of their last five against Toronto and Atlanta. They won a 10-inning game 7-4 yesterday to close out a series win in Canada.

Boston, meanwhile, has won five in a row to pull into second place in the American League East, three back of the Jays. They counter with Brayan Bello, who is 7-5 with an ERA of 3.19.

As for Ke’Bryan Hayes, he had two hits for the Reds during a 4-2 loss in Atlanta on Sunday. David Bednar hasn’t pitched for the Yankees since blowing a save in his first outing with them Friday night.

Lend me your ears!

Starting Friday, watch the TribSports YouTube channel or our Facebook Live stream at 9 a.m. I’ll be hosting the Mike’s Beer Bar “Friday Football Show” with the Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy every week. It’ll be an hour of conversation, previewing the upcoming Steelers game and talking about the NFL and even some of the local college teams.

I’ll be posting the “Mike’s Beer Bar Pregame Show” podcast every Black and Gold gameday. That can be found on the Breakfast With Benz podcast feed embedded below this entry.

Not only will the “Friday Football Show” be streamed live, but you can also find it on our weekly Football Footnotes page after it concludes. The show will be interactive, featuring viewer comments, questions and predictions in the same format, and at the same location as “Madden-Benz: Unfiltered” every Monday.

Listen: Our Bella Construction “Letters from Camp” podcast features a recap of the Friday night practice under the lights, and has a conversation with former Steelers QB Jim Miller, now of Sirius XM Radio