Mike Tomlin Offers Advice to Roman Wilson in Midst of Adversity
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson is behind the eight ball due to suffering a high ankle sprain in the first week of training camp. The time missed in the preseason and the early portion of the regular season caused him to be a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Wilson was just fully cleared to return from his injury last week.
The Steelers dressed only four wide receivers on Sunday, but running back Cordarrelle Patterson also plays some receiver. The Steelers opted to give veteran defensive lineman Dean Lowry a helmet instead of Wilson.
“We value position flexibility,” Tomlin said. “It allows us to make decisions to strengthen other areas. We went with four wide outs. We carried an extra D-lineman today because we knew we were in for a run game fight.”
Roman Wilson missed the entire preseason and has been inactive for the first three games.
“He’s just gotta keep working. It is very difficult to get on a moving train,” Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference.
Tomlin added that veteran defensive lineman Dean Lowry was a healthy scratch twice after his lengthy camp absence, and said that’s multiplied when talking about a rookie.
“My advice to Roman is to keep working. Take that opportunity when that door is left ajar,” Tomlin said.
Wilson suffered an ankle injury on the first week of training camp, and was just fully cleared to return from his injury this week. He was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday before practicing fully on Thursday and Friday, but he was largely not practicing with the first team.
The team’s third-round pick out of Michigan in the 2024 NFL Draft, Wilson suffered a left ankle sprain during the first padded practice of training camp way back on July 30, and has been rehabbing ever since.
“Every day I come into this building, I just do what I can to get ready for the game,” Wilson said last Thursday. “I just come here and practice hard and do what I’ve got to do, one day at a time. … Every day I feel like I come in here and get a little bit better. That’s all I can really focus on, having a good attitude and getting better every day.”
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.
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