It might not be Terry McLaurin but don’t be surprised if the Pittsburgh Steelers have a new face in the wide receiver room before the regular season begins. With WR Calvin Austin III injured and Roman Wilson quiet, beat writer Ray Fittipaldo believes help is on the way.
“I would say watch out for a move down the road,” Fittipaldo said Sunday night on the No. 1 Cochran Sports Show. “Maybe not this week, but down the road.”
The Aaron Rodgers-DK Metcalf connection has heated up since the pads came on Wednesday. The ones to Austin and Wilson have simmered. Austin’s missed the past two days with an unknown injury. It may be minor, but he’s missed important reps with Rodgers, who didn’t fully practice with the team in the spring and held just one informal Malibu throwing session after.
Wilson has been even quieter. The good news is he’s healthy. The bad news is a lack of production. Receptions during the team period have been few and far between. During Sunday’s practice, he wasn’t even targeted during the team period, much less catch a pass. And that was with Austin out of the lineup, which gave Wilson even more reps and a larger role.
The players behind haven’t made that much more of an impact, either. Ben Skowronek feels closer to a roster lock than Robert Woods, but his best assets are blocking and playing special teams. Woods could be in the final year of his career. Rookies like Roc Taylor have flashed but will need to do a lot more to simply make the 53-man roster, let alone contributing on gameday.
Fittipaldo cautioned it would be a “lesser” move and unlikely to be McLaurin. Even as Omar Khan keeps all doors open, McLaurin has higher odds of staying in Washington than landing in Pittsburgh. It’s still too early to create a short list of other names outside of the usual suspects floated throughout the offseason: the Green Bay Packers’ Romeo Doubs, Indianapolis Colts’ Alec Pierce, a free agent like Gabe Davis or Amari Cooper.
Safety, offensive line, and receiver were three problem areas identified before training camp. Chuck Clark scratched the safety itch. O-line and receiver remain outstanding issues and will be two areas worth watching come roster cutdowns.
