UNITY TWP., Pa. — The Pittsburgh Steelers will hold seven players out of their preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Friday night, but otherwise expect to play most of their starters for a “couple series,” head coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday.
Tomlin will hold out veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive tackle Cam Heyward, guard Isaac Seumalo, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and quarterback Russell Wilson. He also will not play outside linebacker Alex Highsmith (groin) and inside linebacker Patrick Queen (foot/ankle), who have been dealing with minor injuries.
He didn’t rule out anyone else from playing, though it seems unlike that wide receiver Roman Wilson (ankle) will be ready to go. He hasn’t practiced in a week since suffering an ankle sprain last Tuesday in the first padded practice.
The starters that will play, including quarterback Justin Fields, are expected to play for a series or two, with the backups being in the game by the end of the first half. Tomlin explained that’s why the second-team unit, let by quarterback Kyle Allen, got additional situational work on Wednesday.
Tomlin did confirm that he considers his situation at quarterback to be a competition, and even though Wilson will not be playing on Friday, that in-stadium results will be weighted more heavily to determining the outcome than what has happened at practice so far.
Wilson has had just one full practice, and took half reps in that one on Tuesday, since injuring his calf in the team’s run test two weeks ago. He appears to be physically fine, but is still ramping up his participation from a workload standpoint. That process will probably be further interrupted by the need to prepare Fields and Allen for Friday’s game over the next two practices at St. Vincent College this week.
Houston is also expected to play its starters at least sparingly. The Steelers and Texans will kick off from Acrisure Stadium at 7 p.m. on Friday.