Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson is dealing with a calf injury ahead of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, and he said the plan is for him to test the calf on Sunday during pregame warm ups before making a decision, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN.
Russell Wilson is doing everything possible to be ready to play for the Steelers on Sunday, including getting a lot of treatment on his calf leading up to the game, according to Pryor. Wilson was dealing with a calf injury for much of training camp, before eventually returning to practice. He was named the starting quarterback as the regular season approached over Justin Fields, but this injury could mean that Fields gets the start anyway.
The Steelers held a competition between Wilson and Justin Fields throughout the summer, but it always seemed like if healthy, Wilson had the upper hand. However, it was reported that Pittsburgh likely would have some packages for Fields to be out there for some plays, even with Wilson starting under center.
It will be worth monitoring Wilson’s status leading up to the game. If he can’t play and Fields ends up performing well, it will be interesting to see if Mike Tomlin keeps him as the team’s quarterback, or goes back to Wilson.
The Steelers have a good defense, and if they can get good enough quarterback play from either Wilson or Fields this season, they could find themselves back in the playoffs.
Arthur Smith looking for revenge on Falcons as Steelers offensive coordinator
It was a savvy move for the NFL to schedule this Steelers-Falcons matchup for Week 1. Arthur Smith was a highly-criticized head coach during his time with the Falcons, much to do with the usage of offensive playmakers like Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson. Smith is looking to revitalize a Steelers offense that has not been good in many years.
With the Falcons, Smith did not have the best quarterback play, having players like Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. Still, the usage of his star players was questionable at best. With Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see how much usage players like Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and George Pickens get. Those three are in line to be the top playmakers for Pittsburgh.
The Falcons are debuting Kirk Cousins at quarterback. It will be intriguing matchup, regardless of who is under center for the Steelers.
