Player: WR Roman Wilson
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The fact that the Steelers are letting Roman Wilson practice at all is a big win. Even if he doesn’t play another down this season, at least that’s something. For most of his rookie season, he has just sat and watched. It’s brutal for a rookie to while away his time on IR, not even able to move around in practice. At least he gets to feel like an actual football player now, and it opens the door in the event of injury.
Part of the reason the Steelers didn’t more aggressively pursue a wide receiver this offseason than they did is because they drafted Roman Wilson in the third round. That might sound hard to believe in hindsight, but they obviously expected him to contribute this season. His body made other arrangements for him, however, so the Steelers let him idle.
Wilson injured his ankle early in training camp after showing early signs of promise. After missing most of camp and all of the preseason, even practicing on a limited basis early on in the regular season, it’s no surprise he spent so much time as a healthy scratch. He ultimately dressed for a whole game, playing a child-sized handful of snaps.
That’s all he got, because soon after he suffered another injury. The Steelers eventually put him on IR, and that is where Roman Wilson has remained since. It’s most likely that he has been healthy for some time now, but they had no reason to put him in motion, because they didn’t trust that he could contribute with his lack of conditioning and on-field work as he caught up in the classroom.
The Steelers are starting his meter now because it doesn’t do any harm to do so. They can let Wilson practice for the next three weeks, and by then, their season might be over anyway. In the meantime, getting him going at least starts the process of making him a relevant football player. If they suddenly need a wide receiver in the playoffs due to injury, he could be a warm body and contribute.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
