The wait is over for the Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Russell Wilson will make his debut for the Black and Gold in a pre-season friendly against the Buffalo Bills.
Wilson missed the Steelers’ loss to the Houston Texans on day 1 as he was recovering from a sore calf, which he sustained while pushing a sled during conditioning training in July. Justin Fields and Kyle Allen shared the quarterback duty that day.
Wilson, who watched the game from the sidelines, later revealed that he played in the pre-season to experience what it’s like to be a Steeler. The veteran quarterback’s plea received a positive outcome as ESPN’s Brooke Pryor confirmed head coach Mike Tomlin has allowed Russell Wilson to play against the Bills.
Coach Tomlin revealed on Thursday that the 36-year-old had a great week of practice and appeared to be moving better. It will be Russell’s first official snap in the NFL since the Denver Broncos benched him before Week 16 last season.
Russell Wilson is eager to prove that he is the Steelers’ #1 quarterback
The Steelers replaced the former first-round pick Kenny Pickett with Wilson and Fields. And even though Mike Greenberg called it replacing one bad quarterback with even two bad quarterbacks, there’s still the upside to this decision.
While Wilson brings the experience of being a Super Bowl winner, Fields injects the pace of a new-gen quarterback. There are tons of ways Tomlin could use both of them. However, he still needs to make sure who will be the Steelers starter in week 1 of the regular season. For now, all the QBs will share snaps, and Wilson is ready for the occasion.
I don't play with fear. I never have. You play smart just like a normal game. Got to know when to get down—got to know when to slide—got out of bounds—all those things]… I know how to avoid certain things, certain hits, and all that. You got to be smart out there. But also, I don't strap on the pads and just get ready to go and play fearful… So, I'll be ready to rock and roll if that's the case. Russell Wilson said per ESPN.com
Fans at Acrisure might even see Fields receiving a few dimes as well. A video surfaced of Wilson feeding the former Bears starter one-handers at Steelers practice.
It will be fascinating to see Wilson linking up with the likes of George Pickens, who has received all-around praise in the offseason camp. There are also other targets, namely Dez Fitzpatrick , third-year wideout Calvin Austin III, and rookie Roman Wilson .
