First Call: No Aaron Rodgers reveal at 'Big Night Aht,' 'Sell The Team' chants with Paul Skenes on stage

Thursday’s “First Call” recaps an uncomfortable moment for Paul Skenes at Pat McAfee’s “Big Night Aht” event. Ben Roethlisberger gets candid about Arthur Smith. Justin Fields avoids specifics about his time in Pittsburgh.

And an opponent for the Steelers’ trip to Ireland may not be set in stone just yet.

No dice

Aaron Rodgers did not get revealed as the Steelers’ new starting quarterback during Pat McAfee’s “Big Night Aht” event at PPG Paints Arena Wednesday night. Many — including myself — thought that could happen, given that Rodgers is a regular guest on McAfee’s show.

Instead, there were plenty of other Pittsburgh sports luminaries who made appearances, including Ben Roethlisberger, Paul Skenes, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin.

At one point while Skenes was on stage, the crowd broke into the now familiar “Sell The Team” chants that are being directed at owner Bob Nutting nonstop at PNC Park.

McAfee tried to get the mood of the moment back on the rails and encouraged Skenes to address the crowd.

“I haven’t even been here a year, and this is an awesome city,” Skenes said. “I haven’t played everywhere in the league. I haven’t gone to every park. But the fans here, the park, the city, and the character are like none other. And you guys deserve to win. We deserve to win.”

Skenes, Roethlisberger and Crosby all tried to throw a football through a target on stage to raise money for a fan giveaway. Crosby and Big Ben hit their throws. Skenes missed. The winner ended up getting $2 million.

Unfortunately, he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan in a Jalen Hurts jersey.

Give it up

Speaking of Roethlisberger and McAfee, the two were on Big Ben’s “Footbahlin’” video stream in advance of McAfee’s event. And the topic of Rodgers going to the Steelers came up.

One point Roethlisberger made is one we’ve discussed frequently, and that’s how tight of a hand coordinator Arthur Smith wants to have around the throat of the offense. It’s been widely whispered that Smith was reluctant to yield much control of the offense at all, even when a Super Bowl champ such as Russell Wilson was at the helm.

Roethlisberger said that Smith needs to relax his grip a bit, especially if he is dealing with an established veteran quarterback.

“Arthur Smith has to understand that he has to let the quarterback have some rein,” Roethlisberger said. “I was told he really pulled the reins back on Russ. In the two-minute drill, (he) wouldn’t let Russ call his own plays. You have to let a quarterback do that stuff.”

McAfee seemed flummoxed by the thought.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that in the NFL… with a Super Bowl champ,” McAfee said.

Wilson has since moved on to the New York Giants.

Thinking twice

It has long been assumed that the Green Bay Packers were going to be the Steelers’ opponent when the team goes overseas to play in Ireland this fall.

However, Packers president Mark Murphy doesn’t see it that way. Via the social media account of Wisconsin sports personality Bill Michaels, it’s Murphy’s belief that the Steelers are going to want to protect the Packers game so that it can be a home, primetime affair.

Especially if former Packer Aaron Rodgers ends up being the Steelers’ quarterback.

@Packers President Mark Murphy states that the @steelers most likely will protect the Green Bay game, therefore they will play in Pittsburgh and not Ireland. Especially if a former QB is playing in the Steel City. #tailgatetour #greenbay

— Bill Michaels (@Bill_Michaels) April 9, 2025

Then again, with a subplot like that, the NFL may salivate at the prospect of making that a showcase game for a 9:30 a.m. start to promote the overseas angle and the ratings for that window in the schedule.

The NFL is expected to announce the Steelers’ opponent for the Dublin game in early May. This will be the first NFL regular-season game in Ireland. The Steelers and Chicago Bears played a preseason game in Dublin’s historic Croke Park back in 1997.

Fields speaking freely

Meeting with the New York media for the first time as the New York Jets quarterback, Justin Fields admitted that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with being benched by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin after getting the club off to a 4-2 start.

Justin Fields on the Steelers benching him last year: "It was different for me and a space I wasn't really comfortable. But Coach Tomlin made a decision he thought was best for the team. I'm never going to go against that. I just tried to change my perspective and get better in…

— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) April 9, 2025

Fields was also asked if he was allowed to fully explore the role of being an NFL quarterback in Pittsburgh and Chicago.

“I did what I was asked to do, and I’ve never had a problem with that. I’ve always been a team player, I’ve always been advocating putting myself behind the team,” Fields said. “I’m not going to get too much into depth on what happened in Chicago and what happened last year with Pittsburgh, but I’m grateful for all the experiences that I’ve had. I’ve met a lot of great people there, (and) built a lot of great relationships that will last a lifetime. Of course, the more time you have in the league, the more experience you have, so I think I’m progressing and getting better each and every year.”

Justin Fields is asked about his previous experiences in other offenses:

"I did what I was asked to do, I've never had a problem with that. I'm grateful for all of the experiences that I've had. I think I'm progressing and getting better each and every year." pic.twitter.com/phegpHDdmR

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) April 9, 2025

I didn’t hear a “Yes” in there, anywhere, did you?

Fields signed with New York in free agency March 13 for $40 million over two years.