Russell Wilson won the Steelers’ starting job after the preseason, but his return trip to Denver may feature street clothes or another full uniform and no game action.
Mike Tomlin is preparing for Justin Fields to start against the Broncos, The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo notes. The 18th-year Steelers HC said Wilson, who aggravated his training camp calf injury last week, does not have a chance to practice fully until at least Thursday, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Wilson is set to be limited Wednesday, which does keep the door open to a return.
Wilson is feeling better, Tomlin added, but the Steelers — having seen the free agent signing’s calf problem recur — are again leaning toward exercising caution. Wilson still suited up for Pittsburgh’s opener in Atlanta, and given his recent past, he will undoubtedly push to play in Week 2. The Broncos released Wilson after two years, doing so after demoting him — due largely to an injury guarantee in his contract — in Week 17.
Although the Steelers failed to score a touchdown in their 18-10 win over the Falcons, Fields completed 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards while rushing for 57. Fields closed the gap on Wilson, despite frequent pole position-related classifications of the Steelers’ QB race this offseason, after the latter’s injury during training camp and would stand to help his case to be Pittsburgh’s full-time starter by playing well in Week 2. The trade acquisition, however, has not usurped Wilson just yet, Tomlin added, via ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor.
More Fields reps may well hurt Wilson’s cause, and although rumors about the Steelers being interested in post-2024 partnerships with both passers, this will probably be the only season Wilson and Fields are teammates. The Broncos benched Wilson largely due to contract concerns, and he has never been parked strictly for performance issues. Wilson, 35, had never missed a game until 202 when a finger injury sidelined him. In 2022, however, Wilson gave way to Brett Rypien twice — because of a hamstring injury and a concussion.
The Broncos moved on via their Bo Nix draft choice at No. 12 overall. Wilson still counts a record-smashing $53M in dead money on Denver’s payroll, with more than $30MMin Wilson funds — from a post-June 1 cut — to be on the Broncos’ 2025 cap sheet.
