The Pittsburgh Steelers have dropped two straight but at least it seems Russell Wilson is closer to playing. That comes straight from coach Mike Tomlin, who has been using Justin Fields as the starter in Wilson's absence.
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Fields has looked decent, at worst, creating an imaginary QB controversy in Pittsburgh. But Wilson has been out with a calf injury, not because of anything he did wrong in training camp.
Plus, again, Fields has been OK. The Steelers' two losses have both been incredibly tight. They very well could be 5-0 entering Sunday's game vs. the Las Vegas Raiders with Fields, and that's certainly something Tomlin is considering — whether he comes out and says it or not. As for Wilson, there are some things Tomlin did come out and say.
"He's probably going to be active as the No. 2 quarterback," Tomlin told reporters, via NFL reporter Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "Like what I've seen out here, but health and rust are two different things. I thought he had a good week displaying his health, his ability to protect himself. Now it's just the process of getting reacclimated to the ball."
Wilson, 35, has been inactive each week. He's been sort of viewed as an emergency third-stringer all season. That appears to be changing.
"We're in a little bit different place as I stand here today with Russ this week than we have been in recent weeks," Tomlin said Tuesday. "Just met with him and the training staff in preparation for [Wednesday]. Tomorrow will be the first Wednesday that he'll be a scheduled full participant. We'll see what that leads us first. We'll see if he's able to obviously pull it off and get through the session and if he does, what does the quality of that work look like?"
As for Friday, Tomlin said Wilson was a full participant and the plot has therefore begun to thicken.
