First Call: Terry Bradshaw rips idea of Steelers signing Aaron Rodgers; no joint practices with Carolina

Terry Bradshaw hates the thought of the Pittsburgh Steelers signing Aaron Rodgers.

The Steelers won’t be practicing against the Carolina Panthers this summer. An ex-Penguin continues to help the cause of the Edmonton Oilers. And a Pitt hoops alum is hoping to increase his NBA draft stock.

All that and more in Wednesday’s “First Call.”

Mad Brad

Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw ripped the idea of Aaron Rodgers signing with the Steelers after such a long delay.

“That is, to me, just a joke,” Bradshaw said on 103.7 The Buzz in Arkansas on Tuesday. “What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year? Are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark. Whisper to the gods out there.”

???????????? #NFL Hall of Famers Dan Hampton & Terry Bradshaw did NOT mince words when sharing their thoughts on Aaron Rodgers potentially playing for the @steelers ????⚫️????@DavidBazzel @RogerDoyleScott

????https://t.co/BlusBUeWue pic.twitter.com/2XCnI3qMgv

— 103.7 The Buzz (@1037TheBuzz) May 27, 2025

Bradshaw did not paint Rodgers in a positive light.

“You walk into his presence, and you feel like it’s going to start snowing,” Bradshaw said of Rodgers.

Bradshaw was on the program with fellow Hall of Famer Dan Hampton. Both men said they are hearing the same thing — that Rodgers’ agent is telling the rest of the league it’s just a matter of time before his client signs with the Steelers.

A pass on the Panthers

There had been some thought that the Steelers may have a joint practice with the Carolina Panthers in advance of the preseason finale between the clubs on Aug. 21.

However, Carolina head coach Dave Canales said Tuesday that such an event won’t be happening. Instead, the Panthers will be doing a joint practice in Houston before a preseason game with the Texans.

They’ll also host one with the Browns. But they won’t be doing one with the Steelers.

“It’s a good change-up,” Canales said at 4:48 of his press conference Tuesday on the Panthers’ YouTube channel. “With the Browns coming in here and then for us to go down (to Houston). We go against each other every day, it’s great. It just brings fresh life into the competitive environment. I love these joint practices. We’ll take advantage of that. Not with the Steelers, though.”

The Steelers don’t hold joint practices frequently. They did last year with Buffalo before a game at Acrisure Stadium. But they hadn’t held one with another team since 2016 with Detroit.

Pittsburgh also has a preseason game in Jacksonville on Aug. 9 and at home against Tampa Bay on Aug. 16.

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On the brink

The Edmonton Oilers are one goal away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final. They beat the Dallas Stars, 4-1, in the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night to position themselves with a 3-1 series lead.

Former Penguin Kasperi Kapanen had an empty-net goal to help ice the proceedings for Edmonton.

EMPTY-NETTER FOR KASPERI KAPANEN ????️????️????️ pic.twitter.com/o2GbLSwkPb

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 28, 2025

That was his second of the playoffs.

Adam Henrique added a second empty netter for Edmonton to bolster contributions from Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry earlier in the game.

Another ex-Penguin, Mikael Granlund, set up Jason Robertson for the lone goal of the game on Dallas’ side of the ledger.

Game 5 of the series is in Dallas on Thursday night in Dallas. If the Oilers win, they’ll draw the winner of the Eastern series between Carolina and Florida. The Panthers are up 3-1 in that series as well. They can close it out Wednesday in Raleigh at 8 p.m.

Zach attack

Former Pitt Panther Zack Austin is hoping to get drafted into the NBA. Via PittsburghSportsNow.com, The Portland Trail Blazers posted highlights of Austin during their pre-draft workouts.

???? Today’s Draft Workout pic.twitter.com/vcRzllP1M3

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) May 27, 2025

Zach Hicks of Penn State, Vanderbilt’s Chris Manon, Texas A&M product Wade Taylor IV, Arizona star Caleb Love and Money Williams (Montana) joined Austin as part of the workout, according to Blazers reporter Sean Highkin. Most of them are considered second-round talents.

Austin joined the Panthers before the 2023-24 season. He was at High Point before that.

An ACC All-Defensive team member, Austin averaged 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game a season ago. He led the ACC in blocks this year with 51.

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer in this week’s hockey podcast