Shortly after announcing Russell Wilson’s limited practice due to calf tightness yesterday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked directly at what point the calf tightness or injury was reported by Wilson. He skipped over the question and just said he was limited at practice.
ESPN insider Dan Graziano provided a bit of an update this morning via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
“He left practice yesterday with a calf injury, so they’re gonna do tests. They did tests yesterday, they’ll do more tests today, and we’ll see. There is a chance he doesn’t – I mean, it was the same calf that knocked him out for the first couple weeks of training camp. He did not have it before practice,” Graziano said. “He did walkthrough with the first team. He did individual drills and then when it was time to do the team drills yesterday, Justin Fields was playing with the ones and Russell was not on the field.
“Now, he came back out with a trainer, watched the remainder of practice, but obviously some concern here. Unless he can get on the practice field today and we find out it’s all fine. But there’s definitely a chance after all that, after six months of who will it be, we thought it was settled. There is absolutely a chance that Justin Fields is the Steelers’ starting quarterback Sunday.”
This report makes Van Jefferson’s confusion over the quarterback question yesterday even more puzzling. He was asked after practice who the starting quarterback will be, and he said Wilson, seemingly having no clue that Wilson was limited at practice. That gave the impression that Wilson largely practiced, but Graziano is reporting he did not take part in the team portion of practice.
For what it’s worth, TribLive’s Chris Adamski wrote on X shortly after the news broke that Wilson was walking fine in the locker room with no limp and had his play binder in hand while headed to meetings.
Mike Tomlin also stated there is no concern for Wilson’s calf long-term and that they aren’t changing their game plan at all as a result of this limited practice for Wilson.
But obviously the new information from Graziano makes this situation a bit more concerning. ESPN’s Adam Schefter also said on NFL Live yesterday that the Steelers are “unsure” whether Wilson will be able to play Sunday.
If Wilson is unable to play, Fields would get the Week 1 start and further complicate matters in Pittsburgh. Wilson won the starting quarterback competition, but Fields could at least force a conversation if he goes out there and performs well in a win.
Until the Steelers practice today and we get the final injury report with either a limited or full practice for Russell Wilson, it will be anybody’s guess whether he can play in Atlanta. The Pat McAfee Show’s Steelers correspondent, Mark Kaboly, posted as much on X this morning.
Tomlin more or less said they were holding Wilson out due to an abundance of caution. But last time they did that in training camp, he was out for nearly two-and-a-half weeks.
Russell Wilson was scheduled to talk to the media after practice on Thursday, but it was moved to after Friday’s practice. Hopefully he gets a chance to speak to clear up some of the lingering questions.
