All signs are pointing to Justin Fields starting at quarterback for the Steelers on Sunday.
The latest indication is the Steelers list Wilson as questionable after a second consecutive limited practice. Fields took the first-team reps Friday.
Wilson originally injured his calf pushing a sled during the team’s conditioning test the day before training camp. He missed 10 practices while rehabbing.
Wilson played six series in the preseason, with the injury appearing to be behind him. But Wilson experienced tightness in Thursday’s practice, limiting him.
Thus, Fields, not Wilson, likely takes the field with the starting offense against the Falcons.
The Steelers ruled out wide receiver Roman Wilson (ankle), offensive guard Isaac Seumalo (pectoral) and defensive lineman Logan Lee (calf).
Tight end Kyle Pitts was limited earlier this week, but he’s good to go for Sunday’s season opener.
The Falcons have taken Pitts off the injury report after he was a full participant on both Thursday and Friday. Pitts has been dealing with a hamstring injury.
Linebacker Nate Landman (quad) also was limited on Wednesday and Thursday but was a full participant on Friday and is off the report.
Cornerback Antonio Hamilton (groin) was added to the report as limited on Thursday and did not participate on Friday and is out.
Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson was on the practice field Friday, but he was not back to a full workload.
Wilson experienced tightness in his calf during Thursday’s practice and was listed as limited as a result. Reporters at the open portion of practice on Friday said Wilson was working off to the side and Wilson said he didn’t do much during the team period of the final workout before Sunday’s game against the Falcons.
Wilson said he’s trying to be smart about not pushing things too far, but remains hopeful that he’ll be well enough to make his debut for the Steelers.
“I’m trying to get my body ready to go and rock and roll. Just doing everything we can,” Wilson said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Justin Fields will start for the Steelers if Wilson can’t go and it doesn’t sound like there will be any definitive word on the plan for a while.
Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is moving in a positive direction for his availability this weekend.
While Pitts was limited with a hamstring injury for Wednesday’s practice, he was upgraded to a full participant on Atlanta’s Thursday injury report.
Pitts, 23, caught 53 passes for 667 yards with three touchdowns last season.
The Falcons added cornerback Antonio Hamilton to their practice report with a groin injury.
Linebacker Nate Landman was again limited with a quad injury.
Russell Wilson’s training camp started with a calf injury and the Steelers quarterback is dealing with more calf issues days before the team’s first game of the regular season.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters on Thursday that Wilson was limited in practice earlier in the day. Tomlin said that calf tightness was the reason why he did not fully participate.
It’s the same calf that Wilson hurt in his training camp conditioning test and Tomlin said that Wilson will be going for further evaluation. The team will announce injury designations for their road game against the Falcons on Friday.
If Wilson is unable to go, Justin Fields would be in line to make the start for the Steelers. Fields was acquired after the Steelers signed Wilson, but Tomlin said Wilson was in pole position to start to kick off the offseason and the pecking order never changed despite Wilson’s missed time. It remains to be seen if the current calf issue will have any long-term impact on the situation.
Kirk Cousins hasn’t played since Oct. 29, tearing his Achilles on his 61st snap against the Packers. The quarterback now plays for a new team, and at 36 and with a first-round rookie backing him up, doesn’t know how much longer he will play.
Cousins will make his debut with the Falcons on Sunday against the Steelers.
He is eager for the first live hit, free of a red non-contact practice jersey.
“In a sick way, you do [want] to get popped,” Cousins said, via Terrin Waack of the team website. “I’ll probably tell the first guy that hits me, ‘Thank you,’ within reason. It’s good to get that taste of blood in your mouth a little bit.”
Cousins was not on the Falcons’ first injury report of the season, with Atlanta listing inside linebacker Nate Landman (quad) and tight end Kyle Pitts (hamstring) as limited participants Wednesday.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris expects Pitts to play.
"[He] went out there and practiced the other day for us and did a really good job,” Morris said. “He had a hamstring a couple weeks ago or whatever it was. It really hasn’t affected him too much. He’s been out there practicing, doing just about everything, and we’re ready to go.”
Pittsburgh running back Jaylen Warren is dealing with an injury, but he said he’s still expecting to play in the season opener against the Falcons.
Warren was limited on Wednesday with a hamstring issue, according to Pittsburgh’s injury report.
“It feels good,” Warren said, via Teresa Varley of the team’s website. “We’re going to take it slow. I’ll be ready by Sunday.”
Warren, 25, recorded 1,154 yards from scrimmage for the Steelers last season, playing 49 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps. He rushed for 784 yards with four touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He caught 61 passes for 370 yards.
As head coach Mike Tomlin noted, guard Isaac Seumalo did not participate on Wednesday as he deals with a pectoral injury. Defensive tackle Logan Lee (calf) also did not practice.
Receiver Roman Wilson (ankle), cornerback Cory Trice (groin), and offensive tackle Tony Fautanu (knee) were all limited.
Tight end Kyle Pitts is going to be on the Falcons injury report heading into the first game of the regular season.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told reporters on Wednesday that Pitts is going to be a limited participant in practice later in the day due to a hamstring injury. There’s no word on his status for Sunday’s game against the Steelers at the moment, but Morris said that Pitts has not been hampered much by the hamstring.
Pitts did not miss a game last season, but his 53 catches for 667 yards and three touchdowns were seen as a bit underwhelming given how much he produced when healthy as a rookie in 2021. There was a lot of talk during the offseason about getting Pitts back to those results, so the hope will be that the current hamstring issue doesn’t slow him down too much.
Morris said that linebacker Nate Landman will also be limited. Landman is dealing with a quad injury.
The Falcons signed quarterback Nathan Peterman to their practice squad Tuesday, the team announced. In a corresponding move, the Falcons cut offensive lineman Julién Davenport.
The Falcons have Kirk Cousins and rookie Michael Penix on their 53-player roster at the position.
The Raiders cut Peterman out of the preseason after the Saints released him early in training camp. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 108 yards with one touchdown in preseason play.
Peterman, 30, entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2017, and he spent his first two seasons in Buffalo.
In 15 career games, Peterman has completed 53 percent of his throws for 712 yards with four touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
The Steelers face the Falcons on Sunday, which means Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is heading to Atlanta, where he was the head coach the last three years. But that’s not much of an advantage for the Steelers.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Smith doesn’t have any special insights into how to face the Falcons, despite having coached them.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “Obviously he has an intimate understanding of a lot of their personnel, but everybody in the National Football League has personnel departments. It is our business to understand personnel. So I don’t know that we’ve had any earth-shattering information provided in that regard.”
Smith went 7-10 in each of his three seasons as the Falcons’ head coach and was fired after the 2023 season. Now he begins his first season in Pittsburgh with one more trip to Atlanta.