Russell Wilson went from pole position to pit lane, tuning up his calf injury the past six weeks. Sunday night against the New York Jets, he appears to be back leading the pack at the green flag. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on X, Wilson will be taking first-team reps this week and should be in line to make his first start in the Black and Gold.
If this holds up, he will replace Justin Fields, who has started the first six games of the season and led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record.
Wilson has remained the team’s starting quarterback on its depth chart throughout the first six weeks despite not playing a single snap. Initially named the team’s starting quarterback one week before the regular season began, Wilson aggravated a training camp calf injury the Thursday before he was slated to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. That gave Fields the nod to start, a story that continued the first five weeks while Wilson rehabbed and was deemed not fully healthy by the team. He spent the first five weeks inactive and the team’s emergency third-string quarterback.
That changed going into Week 6. Wilson practiced fully all week long and was no longer given an injury designation by week’s end. However, Tomlin cited rust as a factor and stuck with Fields for the Steelers’ Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Wilson serving as the No. 2 quarterback.
Now, Wilson is the starter. He’ll take his first snaps in primetime action against the Jets’ talented defense, a top-10 unit in the league. New York is coming off a short week following a Monday night 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Wilson started 15 games for the Denver Broncos last season, throwing for over 3,000 yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He was benched by the team late in the season before being released on the first day of the new league year. Thanks to Denver being on the hook for his salary, he signed a one-year deal for the minimum to join the Steelers. Wilson is set to become a free agent this offseason.
