During his press conference on Tuesday ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 2 matchup against the Denver Broncos, head coach Mike Tomlin was noncommittal about Russell Wilson’s possible return.
The Steelers are taking a cautious approach after Wilson missed Week 1 with a recurrence of a calf injury he suffered at the start of training camp. Wilson reportedly told the Steelers he was OK to play Sunday, but the team decided not to play him.
It’s the same approach he took with the initial injury in training camp. Tomlin wanted to prevent a small issue from becoming a big one. Despite the cautious approach and extra rest, Wilson relapsed 43 days later, showing just how tricky soft-tissue injuries can be, especially at 35 years old.
NFL insider Judy Battista spoke about Tomlin’s press conference. NFL Network’s The Insiders tonight.
“As I’ve said all along, they’re being very careful, very conservative with Russell Wilson,” Bautista said. “They’re not going to rush it. Quite frankly, Justin Fields is fine, so there’s really no need to push him back on the field right now… They can win games like that. I’m sure they can win games like that against the Denver Broncos. And then when they need more dynamic quarterback play, we’ll see if they think Justin Fields can fill that role or Russell Wilson can fill that role.”
It would be interesting to see how Coach Tomlin would approach it if the schedule was reversed and they had a tough eight-game spree at the beginning of the season instead of the end, but that’s probably why they’re approaching things the way they are now: The division game is still months away, and the “easier” part of their schedule is now.
When asked whether Wilson would play if healthy, Tomlin dodged the question.
Fields wasn’t a great player, but he executed the team’s game plan pretty well: He didn’t lose the ball, he used his feet to extend drives and he was good on the few deep shots he took on offense.
Wilson will no doubt be a pain for Tomlin and the training staff this week. Everyone has been hyping Wilson returning to Denver to face the Broncos all offseason since the schedule was released. There are plenty of reasons Wilson would want to complain about Sean Payton and the team, even if he wouldn’t say it publicly.
As Tomlin said Tuesday’s press conference on the Steelers’ YouTube page“To be honest, I’m not moved by some of those stories.”
Taking it slow with Wilson is a smart move. If he suffers a major setback, they won’t have a choice. If Fields struggles, he’s the only one they have besides Kyle Allen. The best thing for the team is to give Wilson enough time to recover, even if it means missing out on a fun revenge game.
