While Russell Wilson is officially listed as questionable for this Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, one beat writer doesn’t think he has much of a prayer to play. Joining 93.7 The Fan Friday afternoon, Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly weighed in on Wilson’s odds of suiting up.
“For Russell, I would be absolutely shocked if he plays on Sunday,” he told The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “Shocked.”
Wilson suffered a calf injury during Thursday’s practice, missing the team-period portions. Speaking to reporters Friday, Wilson remained optimistic he would play and said he and the team is doing everything to “rock ‘n roll” ahead of the opener. It’s the second calf injury he’s suffered this summer, Wilson injured pushing a sled during the team conditioning test 24 hours before the team’s first practice.
Pittsburgh had the luxury of time and gave Wilson plenty of space to rest and heal, the nine-time Pro Bowler missing almost all of training camp and the first preseason game. The team took the training wheels off for the final three practices and Wilson played in the team’s second and third preseason contests. Healthy, Wilson was named the Steelers’ starting quarterback last week. Now, he’s in real danger of not making it to Week 1.
If Wilson is out, Justin Fields will get the nod instead. Fields benefitted from Wilson’s first calf injury by running first-team throughout the first dozen camp practices. He had a strong camp with his accuracy progressing throughout the summer. However, his preseason performance didn’t do enough to gain ground and beat Wilson out for the job.
Kaboly believes Wilson’s status was cemented from nearly the moment he reported the injury.
“They probably came to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to play barring him waking up and having a new leg and [feeling] great.”
Should Wilson sit out, we might not know until the Steelers release their inactive list 90 minutes ahead of kickoff. But it’s also possible the team declares him out tomorrow. That’s become a more common practice for teams in recent years. Without a quarterback on the practice squad, there wouldn’t be an elevation made. Veteran Kyle Allen would suit up as Fields’ backup if Wilson is out of the lineup.
