The Pittsburgh Steelers took to the practice field on Thursday for their very first session of training camp, but the team did so without quarterback Russell Wilson.
Upon the team taking the field, it was immediately evident that Wilson was not going to participate, as he was decked out in sneakers and a baseball cap and was not seen stretching with the rest of the team.
After practice, head coach Mike Tomlin revealed that Wilson woke up with some calf tightness and he made the decision to not let Wilson practice, even though the veteran wanted to. Wilson is considered day-to-day, per Tomlin.
"Russ woke up today and his calf was tight," Tomlin said. "It was my decision to sit him down today and create a little short-term discomfort for him, not allowing the small problem to become a bigger problem. He could be characterized as day-to-day.
"But on the flip side of that it was an awesome opportunity for Justin (Fields) and the challenge for our offense as a unit to deal with a little adversity at the outset."
With Wilson sidelined, the Steelers gave the first-team reps to fellow quarterback Justin Fields, who made some good throws during the session.
Of course, Fields is expected to be the backup to Wilson, something Tomlin reiterated on Wednesday following comments earlier this offseason in which he said Wilson was in "pole position" for the job.
"Nothing has changed," Tomlin said of the quarterback situation on Wednesday.
"Very carefully," Tomlin said when asked how reps would be distributed between the two quarterbacks. "You think I'm actually going to back myself into a corner so you guys are gonna ask me daily about the rep allocations? No way. I've been on the job too long for that."
The Steelers will be back on the practice field on Friday for their second session of training camp. All eyes will be on Wilson, who will hopefully return sooner rather than later.
