Friday’s “First Call” is stacked with news about JuJu Smith-Schuster, J.J. Watt, Larry Fitzgerald and Baker Mayfield.

Also, UFOs and ice baths.

I’ll let you guess the order.

My turn!

Now that Ben Roethlisberger’s contract is done, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wants the Steelers to turn their attention to someone else.

Himself.

The pending free agent commented on the NFL’s official Instagram post about Roethlisberger’s reworked contact, simply stating “Now let’s talk” and then “Let’s go.”

JuJu wants to stay in Pittsburgh! @CoachTomlin #Steelers pic.twitter.com/LesBmo2Idi

— Blitzburgh ✨ (@RenegadeBlitz) March 4, 2021

That is perhaps Smith-Schuster’s way of saying, “I’ve been patient until you got the captain’s deal done, but now I’m going to start letting people know how everything is going.”

Even those who assumed that Roethlisberger’s contract would eventually get rewritten have been skeptical of the Steelers’ ability to sign Smith-Schuster. He has been “saying all the right things” about wanting to stay in Pittsburgh. But I wonder if that tone will change once he sees what other big tickets are out there on the NFL landscape.

JuJu and J.J.?

Speaking of JuJu (and when aren’t we?), at least one outlet is wondering if Smith-Schuster may want to take his talents to the desert just like J.J. Watt did.

ESPN.com just did a list of perfect free-agent fits. And they have the Cardinals scooping up Smith-Schuster.

“The Cardinals need someone who can work the middle of the field to take some heat off No. 1 wideout DeAndre Hopkins. And that’s what JuJu’s game is: the underneath middle of the field. … Becoming a secondary option again might do wonders for both JuJu and the Cardinals in the make-or-break year for the Kliff Kingsbury era.”

The Cardinals do have $16 million in salary cap space. And Hopkins could use a little more help. He had 115 receptions for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald was next in terms of receptions with 54. Christian Kirk was second in yards with 621, and he tied Hopkins’ touchdown total of six.

That same post listed former Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick as the Steelers’ best target.

Yeah, I’m not buying that one either. And, to be fair, it was posted a few hours before Roethlisberger signed his new contract Thursday.

Fitz’s future

Since we mentioned Fitzgerald, he is the source of much speculation these days. Primarily because the former Pitt star is unsure if he will play another season in 2021.

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury isn’t stopping there, though. He insisted Thursday that he’d like Fitzgerald to play for another five years.

“It’s been an honor, to come in as a young coach from college and just the way he embraced the coaching and offense and his work ethic,” Kingsbury said, via ProFootballTalk. “He’s an all-time great, there’s no doubt. One of the best players to ever play the game. And one of the best people I’ve ever been around, just the way he treats our staff, the people in the building, the fans — he’s phenomenal. And I hope he plays five more years.”

Larry Fitz is now 37 years old and has completed 17 NFL seasons. Fitzgerald is 117 receptions and 5,403 yards away from Jerry Rice’s all-time NFL records.

No thanks

Back to the idea of JuJu and J.J. on the same team.

Would anything at the Cardinals facility happen without being captured on social media?

Well, it appears Watt is no longer in Arizona. Unless they had an ice storm I missed.

No, it looks like Watt and one of his Steelers brothers, T.J., were back up in Wisconsin taking a nice cold dip after a workout.

post-workout recovery.

(more like second workout, after the chainsaw wouldn’t work) pic.twitter.com/UibPxIzlAF

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 4, 2021

Nope. No thanks. Not gonna happen. I did one polar plunge, one time. I didn’t warm up until August.

Mayfield and the Martians

And, finally, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is convinced he had a UFO encounter.

Almost 100%, Em and I just saw a UFO drop straight out of the sky on our way home from dinner... we stopped and looked at each other and asked if either of us saw it... Very bright ball of light going straight down out of the sky towards Lake Travis. Anybody else witness this?

— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) March 4, 2021

That wasn’t a UFO, Baker. That was the Steelers’ opening snap of the playoff game reentering the atmosphere.

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