First Call: Steelers reportedly found a snake in their Washington locker room; DeShon Elliott jabs Ravens, Dolphins
Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Williams is clearing up a perceived shot at former teammate Aaron Rogers. The Steelers apparently had to deal with a pregame locker room distraction in Washington. Safety DeShon Elliott is taking swipes at multiple AFC teams at the same time.
And a former Steelers receiver is getting back to action in Kansas City.
All that and more in "First Call" for Thursday.
Question of intent
New Steeler Mike Williams insists that his "#RedLine" post on social media was not a jab at former New York Jets teammate Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers publicly criticized Williams for failing to run a "red line" route down the field properly on a play that became an interception against the Buffalo Bills last month. Shortly thereafter, New York traded for Davante Adams and sent Williams to Pittsburgh.
Then, of course, Williams' first catch as a Steeler ended up being a red-line route that Williams caught for a score to complete a comeback win over the Washington Commanders.
Naturally, when Williams went on Instagram a day later and posted pictures of his celebration with the image of a green snake and the hashtag "#RedLine," it was assumed that he was taking a shot at Rodgers.
However, Williams went on "GoJo and Golic" with Mike Golic Sr. and Mike Golic Jr. and insisted that he wasn't knocking his former QB.
Regardless of Williams' intent, Rodgers told the New York media he wasn't bothered by the post, and he wished Williams well.
Rodgers has more pressing matters at hand. His Jets are now 3-7 and circling the drain in New York. They have a home game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Call animal control
On his latest "Not Just Football" podcast , Steelers captain Cameron Heyward claims that a snake was loose in the Steelers' locker room after pregame warmups.
Specifically, he says the unwelcomed intruder was slithering through Russell Wilson's locker.
"Before the game, I go out, warm up," Heyward said. "I come back in. Everybody was a little shocked. I'm like, 'What's going on?' There was a snake in our locker room. A snake. It was coming from the bottom of Russ' locker. Everybody was thrown for a loop."
Heyward says no one caught the snake, and it scurried away.
"Mike T (Steelers coach Mike Tomlin) was like, 'We can make a big deal about a small locker room (and) there being a snake. But it doesn't matter. We've still got to win. ... So it kind of just played into our mantra."
Maybe that's where Williams was going with his snake reference on his Instagram post.
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Two teams, one soundbite
Steelers safety DeShon Elliott managed to trash-talk two teams at once this week as his team prepares to play the Ravens.
Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey hosts a podcast called "The Punch Line." Elliott joined his former Baltimore teammate and took a jab at Humphrey's defense.
"Defensively, I don't know what y'all got going on over there," Elliott said. "It has nothing to do with me, but the stat sheet says that y'all are No. 1 in run defense. But it says y'all are 32nd in pass defense."
Humphrey had no choice but to sigh, nod his head and acknowledge Elliott's statistical reference.
"That has been quite ... rough I would say," Humphrey said.
Elliott also said he was looking forward to playing the Ravens because last year, when he played against them as a Miami Dolphin and lost to them 56-19, his own team was "Soft as (expletive)."
Elliott also blasted the entire culture of being a Dolphin and living in Miami as an NFL player.
"When we lost to Tennessee (in Week 11), you can tell the heart and soul for that team disappeared," Elliott said . "Guys started going out more. Guys started going to the strip club throughout the week. Guys started showing up to meetings late. The Miami culture is the reason why Miami will never be good. Miami will never be a good football team. They will never be good because of the Miami culture. They have great players."
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel dismissed a question about Elliott's comment, claiming he was only worried about the 2024 team.
This week, the 3-6 Dolphins host the 2-7 Las Vegas Raiders.
On the mend
It looks like JuJu Smith-Schuster is about to make his return to the Kansas City Chiefs lineup.
According to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz, the former Steelers wide receiver is ready to come back from a hamstring injury.
Smith-Schuster last dressed Oct. 20 against the San Francisco 49ers. He has just nine catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. Seven catches and 130 of those yards came against the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 7 before his injury.
Since Smith-Schuster went down, the Chiefs added to their receiving corps by trading for DeAndre Hopkins. Over three games since arriving in K.C. versus the Tennessee Titans, Hopkins had 14 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, K.C. could use as much help as they can. They barely survived last week's game against the Denver Broncos. Now they have to visit the Buffalo Bills, who lead the AFC East at 8-2. At 9-0, the Chiefs are atop the AFC West as the NFL's last unbeaten team.
