While there’s a chance that Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III could play on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, the Steelers need to figure out who will replace Austin if he can’t go. On Tuesday, Mike Tomlin said that Roman Wilson and Scotty Miller could be in line for increased snaps in that scenario.
“It’s about the elevation of roles of guys like Roman Wilson and Scotty Miller, for example. I’m excited about watching those guys work and maybe get some elevated participation,” Tomlin said in his press conference via the team’s YouTube channel.
Wilson hasn’t seen the field much this season, with just 44 offensive snaps through four games. Tomlin said that Wilson’s usage so far hasn’t been due to anything he’s done or the competition at receiver, but rather the way the team has deployed different personnel this season.
“It might just be our selection of personnel groups. We’ve been talking a lot about multiple tight ends, Spencer Anderson reporting as eligible, the utilization of multiple tight end groups. So his lack of participation may not mean anything relative to his performance or anything that’s going on at his position. It might just mean how we choose to deploy our personnel groups through the first month of the season.”
Using multiple tight-end sets isn’t anything new for the Steelers under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. It was especially prevalent against the Vikings, with the Steelers often going heavy with Spencer Anderson playing 16 snaps and Darnell Washington leading the tight end room in snaps. But it limits how many receivers are on the field, and with Wilson not one of the team’s top two receivers, he hasn’t gotten many opportunities.
That could change if Austin can’t go, and it will be a big opportunity for Wilson to try and seize and earn more playing time. Him and Miller offer a similar skillset and both were standouts in the preseason and played well in training camp when Austin was dealing with a different injury. There was some speculation that Ben Skowronek could also earn a bigger role in the receiving game, and while Skowronek could see the field more as a good blocking receiver, it sounds as if the Steelers will rely on Wilson and Miller to help them in the receiving game.
There was plenty of buzz preseason about Wilson and what he could bring to the Steelers after missing most of last season with injuries, but he just hasn’t gotten the opportunities. If Austin is out and he can’t take advantage of a potentially increased role, it’ll lead to questions about just how much he can contribute for the Steelers.
