Wednesday’s “First Call” features former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields absorbing shots from the owner of his new team.

That same owner, Woody Johnson, also comments on letting Aaron Rodgers leave for Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, Russell Wilson isn’t happy. We’ll tell you why. A former Steelers receiver is back on the open market, and the Steelers-Bengals game drew a huge viewership number in prime time on Thursday.

Woody’s words

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson says he has no regrets over releasing Aaron Rodgers in March. That allowed him to sign with the Steelers in June.

Rodgers is 4-2 in Pittsburgh with a passer rating of 105. Meanwhile, Johnson’s Jets are 0-7, and Rodgers’ replacement, ex-Steeler Justin Fields, got benched last week.

Yet, Johnson refuses to second-guess himself over making that move at the franchise’s most important position.

“I never look back,” he said via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. “You have to look forward to football. Even when you cut players, they could be a Hall of Famer. You just never know. But Aaron’s playing great now. He’s in a situation that’s working for him.”

As for Fields, Johnson threw his QB under the bus in an effort to cover for rookie head coach Aaron Glenn, who has lost his first seven games.

“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got. I mean, he has ability, but something just is not jiving,”Johnson said while at the NFL fall meetings in New York. “You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re going to try to do for the remainder of the season.”

Fields’ passer rating is 91.1, 18th in the league. That’s the same number Joe Burrow posted before he was injured in Cincinnati.

Yet, Johnson wasn’t done blaming the Jets’ offensive woes on Fields’ passing inefficiency.

“The offense is just not clicking, and you can’t run the ball if you can’t pass the ball,” Johnson said. “That’s football 101.”

The Jets’ rushing offense is actually ninth in the NFL at 127.9 yards per game.

More sports

• Aaron Rodgers gets chance to defeat 32nd NFL team when Steelers face Packers • WR Calvin Austin could return from 2-game absence when Steelers face Packers • Play of Steelers' high-profile secondary hasn't 'met my vision,' coach Mike Tomlin admits

Big pop

Apparently, there’s a big market for 40-something quarterbacks.

The Steelers’ 33-31 loss to the Bengals on Thursday night brought in quite an audience to watch Aaron Rodgers versus Joe Flacco at QB.

According to the Prime Sports social media feed, Steelers-Bengals hauled in an average viewership of 15.21 million people. That’s a 55% increase over last year’s “Thursday Night Football” game in this spot on the calendar (Oct. 17, 2024) between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints.

The game has helped Prime boast a 17% spike in viewership to this point year-over-year. More than 3 million people even stuck around to watch the postgame show with Flacco and Ja’Marr Chase live on the set.

That’s the second-highest number in the show’s history.

The @steelers-@Bengals back and forth thriller last Thursday night delivered another huge viewership win for the @NFLonPrime! pic.twitter.com/WOX0NTiYBG

— PrimeVideoSportsPR (@PrimeSportsPR) October 21, 2025

This week’s game has the Minnesota Vikings (3-3) traveling to Los Angeles to play the Chargers (4-3).

Rankled Russ

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson fired back at his former coach in Denver, Sean Payton.

Following the Broncos’ 33-32 win over the Giants on Sunday, Payton made a crack about telling New York owner John Mara that he would’ve preferred New York bench Wilson for rookie QB Jaxson Dart after their Week 7 match-up.

“They found a little spark with that quarterback. I was talking to John Mara not too long ago, and I said we were hoping that change would’ve happened long after our game,” Payton said.

Given that Wilson exited Denver under frosty conditions with Payton at the end of the 2023 season, the quote certainly generated interest. Wilson took notice.

Classless… but not surprised….Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media. ???????? #LetsRide ????

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) October 21, 2025

The “bounty hunting” reference was a clear shot at Payton for his “Bountygate” suspension of 2012.

The Broncos went 11-19 in Wilson’s starts over two seasons and failed to make the playoffs. After that bitter divorce in Colorado, the Steelers signed Wilson on a one-year contract to be their quarterback in 2024.

This offseason, he signed in New York, but was benched in favor of Dart after three games.

What to say about Ray Ray?

Former Steelers return man and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud is looking for a new team. He’s been released by the Atlanta Falcons, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

McCloud had been sent home for unknown reasons and was inactive for Sunday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers. That was his second consecutive scratch from the lineup.

McCloud has reportedly been upset since receivers coach Ike Hilliard was fired in Week 3, although Falcons coach Raheem Morris denied that was the reason for the move while explaining why McCloud was inactive for the game.

“I sent him home,” Morris said via ESPN.com’s Marc Raimondi. “Excused absence — home. Working through some things right now that are private with my young man, and we’ll figure those things out as we go.”

After the firing of Hilliard (who also was a Steelers assistant), McCloud said Hilliard was the best coach he’s ever had and that it reminded him that “this league has no loyalty.”

Listen: Tim Benz and Charlie Batch discuss the Steelers’ loss in Cincinnati on 105.9 The X

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---