Russell Wilson Close to Returning, Scheduled to Be a Full Participant at Practice
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed during his Tuesday press conference that quarterback Russell Wilson is scheduled to be a full participant in practice on Wednesday without restrictions. Tomlin said that Wilson will start by getting reps with the second unit and then see where that goes throughout the week.
Tomlin added that Wilson will get reps as not to disrupt Justin Fields’ preparation. He said the “door is ajar” for Wilson to be active on Sunday, but he’ll have to see how he does at practice this week.
“We’ll see where that leads us,” Tomlin said. “First, we’ll see if he’s able to pull it off and get through the session — and if he does, what does the quality of that work look like? His ability to protect himself, etc.”
Wilson has been dealing with a lingering calf injury since the start of training camp. He re-injured his calf at the Thursday practice prior to the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, and has been inactive for all five games. Wilson’s participation in practice picked up last week and now he’s scheduled to practice without restrictions. A decision at the quarterback position could be looming.
When asked if Wilson has an opportunity to be the starting quarterback on Sunday, Tomlin wasn’t interested in discussing a hypothetical situation.
“Until Russ gets to a point where we are comfortable with what we are looking at, he is able to execute all schematics, he is able to put together back-to-back consecutive days and so forth, I just think that is a hypothetical conversation,” Tomlin said. “We will continue to push forward with Justin until those things are legitimate, and then we will make decisions accordingly.”
Fields completed 15 of 27 passes (55.6%) for 127 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 93.3 in Sunday night’s 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It was by far his worst performance this season, but it wasn’t awful. His receivers also let him down on several occasions with drops.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.
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