Steelers Training Camp Takeaways: One Very Old Freshman, Unhappy Najee, WR2 Leader?

UNITY TWP., Pa. — New Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson might be the richest man on campus after he reported to St. Vincent College on Wednesday, for his first training camp with his new club.

Wilson has earned over $266 million in his career, according to Spotrac. His wife, musical star Ciara, might have more. Wilson arrived on campus on Wednesday in a black Mercedes-Benz G-class SUV that stickers at around $183,000.

Then, the 35-year-old quarterback got out, wearing a graphic Steelers t-shirt, carrying his backpack over one shoulder and his playbook under one arm, and looked every bit like someone trying to fit in on a college campus.

Lest you think he was putting on a show for the assembled television cameras, later in the day, Wilson was spotted carrying his own helmet around campus, looking every bit like the freshman that he professed to feel like.

“I feel like I’m a freshman all over again at college, pulling up to NC State,” Wilson said. “I remember those days and that’s the excited part of it.”

Wilson said that he “thinks it’s going to be cool” staying in the dorms at St. Vincent, and said he’s looking forward to the team-building and camaraderie that it can create.

In the last three years, as he engineered an exit from the Seattle Seahawks, and then was asked to go away while the Denver Broncos footed the largest bill in NFL history to do so, a lot has been said about Wilson’s personality.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) huddles up teammates prior to an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Some think he’s fake and putting on an act. Others think he might be genuine but weird. His social media videos over the years have certainly walked the line between cute and cringe-inducing. Former Detroit Lions offense lineman T.J. Lang summed it up pretty well a few years ago:

“He doesn’t really have an identity,” Lang said. “You know what I mean? He’s like so fraudulent and fake. But, at the same time, that might still just genuinely be who he is. Just going back to, I mean, my goodness, that Subway commercial that he did, was that not the cringiest, creepy promo video you’ve ever seen? Where he’s just talking to himself. It’s just creepy.”

Wilson is certainly not like many others, but his go-getter personality is probably just what the Steelers have needed this offseason. With a new offensive coordinator, new quarterback, multiple new offensive linemen and a mixed-up wide receivers room, there needed to be someone steering the ship throughout the spring and summer. Wilson handled the install, he got offensive skill position players together, and his credentials demand a level of respect in the locker room that no one else can bring.

“He likes to work,” head coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday. “I just think that that is a really good place to begin. He’s highly conditioned. He brings a unique approach to the weight room maybe for a guy that plays his position. There is a lot of interesting things about him in terms of his appetite for work that’s really attractive.”

Every Steelers player I’ve talked to so far has had positive things to say about Wilson, on or off the record. Of course, nothing has gone badly yet, either. The Steelers and Wilson are clearly still in the honeymoon phase. We’ll see how the relationship works out when things get stressed.

The first thing that could cause such stress? Justin Fields looking like the better quarterback on the field come practice on Thursday. Wilson was given “pole position” for his comportment. He’ll have to keep it with his play.

Steelers WR Calvin Austin III before the Steelers game against the Green Bay Packers, Nov. 12, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

WHO IS AHEAD FOR WR2?

During his press scrum on Thursday, Wilson was asked about the team’s wide receivers room, and he went on an impressively long diatribe about each receiver the team possesses, and what strengths they bring to the table, starting with George Pickens and getting all the way through the receivers and tight ends.

It was interesting to me that the second player he named, just after Pickens, was third-year wide out Calvin Austin III. By my eye, Austin was the team’s second-best wide receiver during OTAs and minicamp. It seems that Wilson might agree.

Austin had just 30 targets last season, so it’d be a big jump from that role to WR2, but he seems to be the best bet to do so right now. His 5-foot-9 on a good day stature would probable disqualify him from that role in most schemes, but Smith uses so many bunches, shifts and motions, that the Steelers could probably get away with using a smaller receiver in that role.

UNHAPPY CAMPER: NAJEE HARRIS

Najee Harris isn’t a happy camper. You could tell that just by the his awkward, media-avoiding entrance to Rooney Hall on Wednesday.

Sometimes you gotta forge your own path pic.twitter.com/egd4Fo2RA5

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) July 24, 2024

He had to be cajoled by the Steelers public relations staff to come back out and speak to the horde of camera and microphone pushers.

Then, Harris collected himself and gave a thorough accounting of his disappointment at not having his fifth-year option picked up, his desire to continue to play for the Steelers and his exasperation at the state of the NFL running back market.

RELATED: ‘Disappointed’ Najee Harris Confronts Steelers Dropping His Option; Wants to Stay in Pittsburgh Long Term

It’s clear this isn’t what he wanted, and talking to us about it sure isn’t what he wanted.
But I don’t get the sense that Steelers fans should be concerned about Harris causing any kind of problems. He didn’t want to speak to the media. Then he did it, and spoke intelligently and engagingly on the issues that he didn’t want to speak about.

He doesn’t want this to be a contract year. He doesn’t want it to be his last year in Pittsburgh. But he’s going to go out there and do it anyway. That’s just the person that he is.

“I’ve been around this stuff all my life,” he said. “What I always take from it is I’ve always been in the driver’s seat of this and God’s been steering it. Wherever he stops the car, is whoever I’m working at. If it’s here or somewhere else, by all means, I’m going to do everything I can for that team. That’s just the mindset you’ve gotta have with this sport.”

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt arrives at training camp on July 24, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

HAPPY CAMPER: T.J. WATT

The biggest smile I saw all day on Wednesday was from Steelers star outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Watt arrived on campus in the middle of Wilson’s gigantic press scrum, gave a big smile, said “Hey Russ,” and snuck right in the door.

Watt is the team’s best player. He’s also not exactly a camera hound. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick were among the defensive stars that pushed to acquire Wilson this offseason, and they did so because they wanted the team to stop wasting its elite defense with mediocrity on offense.

He did eventually come back to talk to the press, but having someone with some more star power to take some of the heat off is just fine with Watt.