It took six weeks but Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson will make his NFL debut this afternoon against the Las Vegas Raiders. Wilson is officially active, per the team’s list of seven inactives that include five injured players.
The team’s injuries helped push the odds in Wilson’s favor, especially with RB/KR and backup wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson out again with an ankle injury. Still, the team opted against elevating WR Brandon Johnson, whom they promoted a week ago, and are dressing Wilson instead. The news also doesn’t come as a surprise after ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indictated Saturday afternoon that Wilson would get a hat.
The Steelers’ third-round pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, Wilson’s rookie season has been stunted by an ankle injury suffered during the first week of training camp. He was injured during Seven Shots in the team’s first padded practice and missed the rest of camp and all three preseason games, not fully resuming practice until after the regular season had begun. Valuable time missed that’s crucial to rookie development, conditioning, and gaining a coaching staff’s trust.
Still, the Steelers are in need of help at wide receiver and Wilson is a smooth route runner with reliable hands. How much he plays this afternoon remains to be seen. It’s unlikely he’ll see a lot of playing time and he could see only rotational work in certain packages.
Pittsburgh and Las Vegas kick off in less than 90 minutes. The Steelers are aiming to break a two-game losing streak while the Raiders are looking to get back to .500.
