Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is up to a rough start after quarterback Russell Wilson’s calf injury cut short his practice time before the team’s season opener against the Falcons. On Thursday, Wilson complained of some tightness in his calf and missed practice to see a doctor to evaluate the extent of the injury.
Advertisement
Ian Rapoport revealed that Wilson reported feeling tightness in his calves during drills, forcing the team to cut his practice as a precautionary measure. After that, he was sent to see a doctor to explore the nature of the injury.
In Rapoport’s opinion, the Pittsburgh team won’t take the injury lightly and might ask Justin Fields to start instead of Wilson on Sunday.
“The Steelers are unbelievably conservative when it comes to calf injuries, don’t be surprised if they get Russell Wilson off his feet this weekend and potentially beyond paving the way for Justin Fields to be the starter”
Wilson injured his calf in the team’s conditioning test in the offseason, which forced him out of training camp. He was on the injury list for the 1st preseason game against the Texans. Wilson made a short appearance in the next game as the team struggled to put an effective offence(the team scored 3 points against the Bills).
After the 2023 season, Coach Mike Tomlin brought in the former Super Bowl winner to Pittsburgh and trusted him to lead the offence despite his failed stint at the Broncos. But this calf injury limited his time on the field and fans were left disappointed with the dual-threat QB’s absence.
With Wilson out, Fields might be the silver lining for the team. The young QB spent three seasons with the Bears with 54 touchdowns and had one of the best rushing performances by a QB with 1143 yards in 2022. Currently, he’s the Steelers’ backup quarterback with Kyle Allen as the 3rd option.
Russell Wilson’s Legacy Taking A Hit
In his rookie season, Wilson equalized Peyton Manning’s passing yards record and it looked like he was destined for greatness. After that, he helped the Seahawks to back-to-back Superbowl appearances and covered 5307 rushing yards in his 12 seasons in the NFL. However, during his time with the Broncos, his performance dropped and he was forced out of the team by coach Sean Payton.
Now, even before his season began, Lamar Jackson has already surpassed his rushing yards record and if he’s unable to redeem himself in 2024 he won’t be able to catch up. In the Chiefs vs Ravens game, Lamar covered 122 yards to take the number 3 spot in all-time rushing yards list(number 1 among active QBs).
The 2024 season is not about making records for Wilson but his final chance to redeem his Broncos stint and safeguard his future in the NFL.
