Russell Wilson has failed to practice in each of the first three days of training camp. Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on X, Wilson remains out for the fourth day, but he has slowly been ramping up the work he does before and after practice. Garafolo reported today that Wilson was going through a “mock game scenario” ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice today.
Wilson told the media earlier this week that he would be practicing if it were up to him, and he certainly would be playing if there was a regular season game. Head coach Mike Tomlin and the training staff have chosen to proceed with caution to prevent a small issue from getting worse.
Wilson tweaked his calf pushing a weighted sled during the annual conditioning test on Wednesday before practices began on Thursday. Jaylen Warren told Mark Kaboly of The Athletic that Wilson got in some after-hours work with him and Najee Harris on Friday after team activities wrapped up for the day. Wilson has been fully engaged throughout practices, helping the other three quarterbacks and taking mental reps for himself.
On the first day of missed practice, he came out in tennis shoes and athletic shorts, and he has slowly been adding back football attire and getting more involved with the pre-practice warmups.
Wilson also threw for the first time during the individual portion at the start of practice, albeit without his helmet, per a video from 93.7 The Fan on X.
Given his increased level of involvement, it seems likely that he will come back as at least a limited participant on Tuesday once the pads come on. Today’s practice is the final of the four ramp-up practices required before pads and contact are allowed. The players have the day off tomorrow, so perhaps Wilson will be back on the field with the first-team offense on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen, and John Rhys Plumlee are getting valuable snaps in Wilson’s absence. These unpadded practices weren’t going to make or break a veteran like Russell Wilson, but they certainly help the younger quarterbacks and the evaluation process that the Steelers’ decision makers have ahead of them at the quarterback position.
