Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson only played five drives in the preseason, preceded by a relative handful of complete training camp practices. Of those five drives, only one of them produced points or even looked particularly good. But he will undoubtedly start the season for the Steelers—and he feels prepared for it.
“I was able to get a lot of reps, obviously all of OTAs, and then also, too, during training camp,” Wilson said Saturday via the Steelers’ website. “Even though I was out, I was getting the mental [reps], and then when I could do a little bit more each day, I was.…I got a lot of reps, especially the past two weeks, practice in particular”.
The Steelers signed Russell Wilson back in March, at which point he promptly took over the offense. He began organizing workouts and bringing his teammates out to train with him. Of course, he was available throughout OTAs, only suffering a calf injury to open training camp.
Still, that calf injury was a major roadblock, keeping Wilson out or limited for extended periods of time. In the early stages, he couldn’t practice at all, then he eased into 7-on-7 work. Even when he began doing 11-on-11 work, he still went through a ramp-up process.
By the end he missed the first preseason game and was restricted in the second one. Presumably healthy now, the Steelers limited Wilson to just the first series of yesterday’s preseason finale. But even if he was prepared to continue playing, he says he is content with the workload.
“I was ready to play however long Coach [Mike Tomlin] wanted me to”, Wilson said. “Whenever I came off the sideline, he just kind of gave me, ‘Hey, you’re done’”. And he got the “You’re done” after that first possession, which resulted in a touchdown. Along the way, he completed a 32-yard pass to George Pickens.
The Steelers completely turned over their quarterback room this offseason, with Russell Wilson at the top of the totem pole. Justin Fields is behind him, having ostensibly competed for the starting job. Fields had plenty of opportunities to lead the offense while Wilson was sidelined, but didn’t seize the starting job.
Without much on-field work in pads, is Russell Wilson prepared to fully execute Arthur Smith’s offense? The Steelers don’t have any more time left to find out. The next game they play in two weeks is going to count, and they will find out then if Wilson is ready.
