As the NFL world waits for the debut of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, a few analysts have shared their conspiracy theories pertaining to the veteran signal-caller.
Wilson is still recovering from a calf injury he suffered ahead of Week 1 that has led to him missing the first two games of the season. Wilson has been limited at practice so far this week and it looks like he's going to sit out again, which will lead to another week of Justin Fields.
Infamous Russell Wilson hater, Mark Schlereth, calls Wilson's injury a "convenient excuse" and believes that if Fields was faring worse, "Wilson's calf would be better than it is right now," essentially implying that the veteran's injury isn't as bad as it seems to be.
"It makes me think this is a convenient excuse because if Justin Fields was turning the ball over, I have a sneaking suspicion that Russell Wilson's calf would be better than it is right now," Schlereth said on Breakfast Ball. "There would be more urgency to get Russell Wilson in there right now. When you're not sure about a player or a player is doing his job fairly well, you're like, 'Take your time, it's OK, Russ. We're gonna be OK. We don't need you right now.' Now, if there was turnovers and you were losing games, I think there would be more urgency.
"And I'm not saying he's not hurt, but everybody's hurt," he added. "Everybody plays hurt, everybody goes through that. So, I just wonder how... listen, let me say one thing: there's no urgency."
Wilson's calf issue is nothing new, as he dealt with the same injury during training camp. It isn't at all shocking for the Steelers to be taking it slow with him, especially considering they have a better backup option than most.
And it's not like Fields has been lighting the world on fire to the point that Wilson can automatically be cast aside after he was named the starter to begin the season.
Another theory comes from Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, who thinks it's possible Wilson will deploy his public relations machine if he doesn't get the starting job once healthy.
"The challenge is keeping Russell Wilson from activating his personal media machine in the event that he knows he's ready to go and he's frustrated about not playing," Florio told 93.7 The Fan. "That's the only downside to this, but I think they know how to handle him in a way that will keep him from trying to make his case through his PR representatives, to reporters who would be pushing the agenda that, 'Why did he come here? He should be traded,' whatever the case may be."
With the shaky ground his career is on, Wilson is hardly in a position to be causing an issue like the one Florio lays out. That certainly won't help him draw interest if he ends up wanting to be traded and he'd be better off just keeping his demand behind closed doors.
When it comes to Wilson and the national media, we've truly seen it all this year and it doesn't appear there's an end in sight.
MORE PITTSBURGH STEELERS NEWS
Latest injury update on Russell Wilson
Roman Wilson trending toward playing
Broderick Jones has brutally honest review of Week 2 showing
Are Steelers contenders or pretenders? Analysts weigh in
