One of the bigger question marks for the Pittsburgh Steelers of late has involved the status of rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson, who has yet to play in a game this season.
Wilson suffered an ankle injury during training camp that sidelined him for the entire preseason. But Wilson was finally healthy a few weeks into the start of the season, yet the Steelers didn't dress him.
Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith both basically said that Wilson needed more time to get into football shape and develop before taking the field.
"And specifically as it pertains to Roman, he got hurt on the sixth play of the first practice (in pads) of training camp," Tomlin said. "And so there are some developmental things, there are some physical plays and conditioning and learning and things that go into his process that are not reflective of the overall process. Roman doesn’t have a whole lot of in-helmet experience to draw from. He’s healthy, but he still has a lot of work ahead of him in terms of being game ready."
Well, Wilson has apparently checked all the boxes required of him to finally play.
Will Roman Wilson play in Week 6?
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the 2024 third-round pick and Michigan product is expected to be active and make his debut in Week 6 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"Steelers rookie wideout Roman Wilson is expected to be active Sunday, per sources, marking his NFL debut vs. Raiders," Fowler wrote. "After an ankle injury slowed his start to the year, Wilson gives the Steelers passing game another option."
Wilson not being active up until this point was at least somewhat surprising. We get it, he missed a lot of time, but the Steelers are also very short on talent at the wide receiver position.
What role Wilson has out of the gate remains to be seen, but we can't imagine it'll be that big in his first game. However, if he is able to provide any semblance of a spark, it won't be long before he is more involved.
