Mike Tomlin was very non-committal about Russell Wilson’s doable return throughout his Tuesday press convention forward of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 2 sport in opposition to the Denver Broncos.
After lacking Week 1 attributable to a reaggravation of his calf damage suffered in the beginning of coaching camp, the Steelers seem like continuing cautiously. Wilson reportedly advised the Steelers that he was tremendous to play on Sunday, however the crew resolution was to carry him out.
It’s the identical strategy they took with the preliminary damage in coaching camp. Tomlin needed to forestall a small difficulty from changing into a big one. Even with the cautious strategy and the additional relaxation, Wilson reaggravated it 43 days later. That exhibits how difficult soft-tissue accidents may be, particularly at 35.
NFL insider Judy Battista mentioned Tomlin’s press convention throughout NFL Community’s The Insiders this night.
“As we’ve been saying all alongside, they’re dealing with Russell Wilson very fastidiously, very conservatively,” Battista mentioned. “They aren’t going to hurry, and albeit, there’s not likely a must push him again onto the sector proper now as a result of Justin Fields was tremendous…They will win video games like that. They will definitely win a sport in opposition to the Denver Broncos like that. After which we are going to see once they want extra dynamic quarterback play in the event that they suppose it’s Justin Fields who can ship it or Russell Wilson.”
It will be fascinating to see Tomlin’s strategy if the schedule was flipped they usually had that tough eight-game gauntlet in the beginning of the season as an alternative of the tip. Nevertheless, that’s possible why they’re approaching issues the way in which they’re. Division play remains to be months away, and the “simpler” a part of their schedule is now.
For what it’s price, Tomlin was requested if Wilson would play if wholesome, and he dodged the query.
Fields wasn’t improbable, however he executed their sport plan fairly properly. He didn’t flip the ball over, he prolonged drives along with his legs, and he excelled with the few deep pictures they took on offense.
You possibly can guess that Wilson goes to bug Tomlin and the coaching workers this week. For the reason that schedule was introduced, everyone has been hyping up Wilson’s return to Denver to play the Broncos all offseason. He has loads of causes to need to stick it to Sean Payton and the group, even when he wouldn’t say it publicly.
As Tomlin mentioned throughout his Tuesday press convention on the Steelers’ YouTube web page, “I’m unmoved by a few of these narratives, to be fairly sincere with you.”
The smart move is to take issues slowly with Wilson. If he have been to endure a major setback, they might be left with out a alternative. If Fields struggles, he’s all you may have aside from Kyle Allen. The most effective factor for the crew is to offer Wilson ample time to get better, even when meaning lacking out on a enjoyable revenge sport.
