Pittsburgh Steelers fans do not have to wait long before they can see their favorite team in action again. The Steelers open the regular season with a trip to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. Thankfully, the team got some positive injury news to start the week.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Troy Fautanu, Roman Wilson, Jaylen Warren, and Cory Trice Jr. have all returned to practice per Teresa Varley of steelers.com. Tomlin said he is optimistic that they could be available on Sunday for the team's regular season opener.
This is huge news heading into the regular season. Fautanu, Wilson, and Warren could each have important roles to play on Pittsburgh's offense. Meanwhile, Trice Jr. provides much-needed depth in the defensive secondary.
Warren reportedly returned to the practice field on Monday and participated in some individual drills and some special teams work, via ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
“Jaylen Warren did some individual drills Monday,” Rutter reported. “He said after practice that he expects to do work in teams on Wednesday and is on track to play Sunday in Atlanta.”
Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan believes that Warren should get more touches than starter Najee Harris if he is healthy.
“If Jaylen Warren is completely healthy Sunday in Atlanta. He should get more touches than Najee Harris,” Fillipponi claimed. “Better player. Warren has best broken tackle rate of any RB in football.”
It is easy to understand Fillipponi's perspective here. In 2023, Warren was not only the more efficient runner (5.3 yards per carry compared to 4.1) but he was also better at breaking tackles.
However, we do not know how offensive coordinator Arthur Smith plans to deploy his running backs. This will be an interesting part of the Steelers offense to watch in the early weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
Russell Wilson is one of four Steelers captains heading into the 2024 season
The Steelers have named Russell Wilson one of the team's captains ahead of the 2024 NFL season. Pittsburgh's other captains include T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, and Miles Killebrew.
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Steelers players vote on who will represent the team as captains. Therefore, it is clear that Wilson's teammates respect him enough to represent and lead the team.
“Russ' resume is a unique one in terms of lift and success, and that tends to play a factor in the decision-making, but not from a decision-maker's perspective,” Tomlin said earlier this week after Wilson was named the Steelers' starter, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “It's just the fruit of his labor. He's seen a lot and done a lot, and I think it was reflected in the way he played and conducted himself.”
This is a significant development for the Steelers because of what it says about Wilson. Russell Wilson has only been with the team for a handful of months. He was also recently in a camp battle with Justin Fields. However, his teammates were willing to look past these obstacles and name him one of the team's four leaders.
