After dealing with a calf injury sustained during the conditioning test on the eve of training camp, veteran quarterback Russell Wilson appeared to be in the clear in recent weeks.
But on Thursday, the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers was limited with calf tightness, according to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Longtime Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly, who is now a correspondent for The Pat McAfee Show, tweeted the news moments ago.
According to Tomlin, there is no long-term concern for Wilson and the calf injury, as tweeted by ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
But it is certainly concerning that Wilson is dealing with the calf tightness once again just a few days before the start of the season Sunday in Atlanta.
Tomlin said the Steelers will reevaluate Wilson on Friday ahead of the season opener, and that the team limited the veteran quarterback Thursday out of an abundance of caution.
That was a similar to the Steelers’ message throughout training camp where they limited Wilson early, allowing him to recover and taking things as slow as possible knowing they had quite a bit of time between camp and the start of the regular season.
Near the end of training camp Wilson downplayed the calf injury, stating to reporters that he had no concerns about it lingering. In fact, Wilson told reporters on Aug. 14 that he felt he was “ahead of schedule.”
He proceeded to play in the preseason matchups against the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions with seemingly no issues and was practicing in full in recent weeks on the South Side.
But Thursday’s development raised some red flags. While Tomlin downplayed things publicly, stating he had no long-term concerns and that the Steelers were just being cautious with their starting quarterback, it’s very concerning that Wilson’s calf issue is popping up once again, and just a few days before the start of the season.
It seems clear that the calf issue is going to linger. That’s typically not an injury that heals over time unless rest is given. For Wilson, as the quarterback, that rest and limited usage of the calf won’t be there. It could affect his mobility moving forward, too.
The injury was once thought to be in the rearview mirror, but it’s right back front and center, and it’s a big deal currently. We’ll see if Wilson can practice in full on Friday and hear what he has to say tomorrow after he was originally scheduled to speak Thursday.
For what it’s worth, the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski tweeted that Wilson walked through the locker room with no issues and didn’t have an obvious limp on his way to a meeting. Adamski also spoke with WR Van Jefferson, who evidently didn’t even realize Wilson reported a calf injury.
Some of Tomlin’s comments were captured by 93.7 The Fan on Twitter Thursday after practice.
