The story of Brandon Aiyuk potentially getting traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers continues, and it seems like a conclusion is in sight. For the sake of everyone’s sanity, hopefully that’s the case. However, even if he does end up with the Steelers, they’ll need more than two receivers to be successful. Rookie Roman Wilson was supposed to have a presence in the WR2 battle, but an ankle sprain has kept him sidelined. NFL insider Adam Caplan, who was just at Steelers training camp, revealed that Wilson could be returning to practice very soon.
“I’m told with Roman Wilson, coming back from his ankle injury, there’s optimism he’ll start practicing within the next seven-to-ten days coming off that ankle injury,” Caplan said during an appearance on SportsGrid’s YouTube channel.
After Wilson got injured, he initially wore a boot and then a brace around his ankle. He’s recently shed that and has been seen walking around practice fine. That gave a good indication that Wilson should be returning soon, but now Caplan has given a more definitive timeline.
That time frame puts Wilson coming back sometime next week, right before the Steelers’ final preseason game. It’s tough to say whether he’ll play in that game, and it honestly probably depends on how comfortable the Steelers feel with his injury and level of play. It would be nice for him to get some reps against NFL players in an actual game, but it’s probably not realistic to expect him to suit up before the regular season.
The Steelers would be smart to not reaggravate Wilson’s ankle injury. That kind of problem can linger if it isn’t properly managed. Seeing them exercise caution and hold Wilson out of the final preseason game wouldn’t be a bad decision, especially if they do trade for Aiyuk.
The other Steelers receivers looked fine in the preseason opener too. Van Jefferson looked solid, Calvin Austin III made plays, and Scotty Miller flashed his incredible speed. There’s really no need to rush Wilson back. His roster spot isn’t in any danger and making sure he’s healthy should be the team’s No. 1 priority. We’ll see next week if Caplan’s information was good or not.
