Steelers rookie WR Roman Wilson reportedly suffered sprained ankle, expected to be ready for season

After getting carted off the field at training camp practice earlier on Tuesday, there was good news about Pittsburgh Steelers rookie receiver Roman Wilson. The injury that caused so much consternation originally was just a sprained ankle, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

As such, Wilson is expected to be healthy in time for the start of the regular season. Pittsburgh opens the season on Sept. 8.

“It was unfortunate we had an injury today,” head coach Mike Tomlin said shortly after practice. “Roman hurt his ankle on a tackle. And so, we’ll have more information regarding the length of his status in terms of how long he might be out.”

However, Rapoport noted that the Steelers will be inclined to let Wilson ease back in to the flow of things to start the year. The 3rd round selection out of Michigan is expected to play a key role in the Pittsburgh pass catching corps this year.

The Steelers drafted Roman Wilson with the No. 84 overall pick in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In his final year for the Wolverines, he had a career-high 48 catches for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns, which led the Michigan offense. He was first-rounder J.J. McCarthy‘s favorite target and a big reason why the star quarterback became such a highly-coveted selection in this year’s draft.

NFL analyst predicts Justin Fields will start for Steelers

ESPN insider Dan Graziano predicted this week that Justin Fields will be the Week 1 starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, not Russell Wilson. When the Steelers signed Wilson, it was logical to think he was the starter for 2024. But once they acquired Fields, things got interesting.

It could very well be the twilight of Wilson’s career and due to an injury prior to training camp, Fields might have a shot. The former Bears first-rounder has been taking the bulk of the reps in camp so far.

“It’s a lot more of a coin flip than most think, and I believe that part of the reason the Steelers have set Wilson up as the leader in the competition is because they believe that’s the best way to manage him,” Graziano wrote for ESPN. “But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Fields will show enough through camp to catch him and claim the Week 1 starting spot. I know most people disagree, and I am fully prepared to be wrong. 

“But the vibes didn’t start off great for Wilson, and I just think the Steelers are going to be too tempted by Fields’ upside once they see them both out there. The question then would become whether Wilson is on the team at all.”

Graziano says Fields and Wilson are both in one-year, “prove it” situations. Pittsburgh has to see if they can roll with either QB or start preparing for the 2025 NFL Draft class.