Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson is expected to make his NFL debut on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. With the Steelers dealing with a slew of injuries, it’s not surprising that Wilson will get a helmet for the first time this season. The Steelers will only have one healthy scratch on Sunday, and it’s likely to be an offensive lineman.
Wilson suffered a high ankle sprain early in training camp and missed the first two games. He was then a healthy scratch the last three games due to the time missed.
“You’re talking about a lot of time missed. He’s working very hard. I would imagine it will happen sooner than later, but it’s not that you got to reach this certain metric. A lot of it is getting back in game shape,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said on Thursday when asked about Wilson’s path to playing. “He’s doing really well, he’s making progress every day. I’d imagine it probably happen sooner rather than later. But missing all of training camp, you (have to) get your legs back. It’s not like a guy played four games and missed a week or two. There’s a lot of football conditioning and certainly a young guy, mentally too. Very pleased with the progress he’s made.”
Mike Tomlin had the same message for Wilson a few weeks ago as Smith.
“He’s just gotta keep working. It is very difficult to get on a moving train,” Tomlin said on Sept. 24 following the Los Angeles Chargers game.
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.
It appears Wilson will finally get his chance on Sunday. Pittsburgh currently ranks 23rd in yards per game, 27th in passing yards per game and 26th in scoring. To say the least, the passing game has struggled. Wilson could be the WR2 that the offense has been seeking, or at the very least provide a spark.