Former Steelers’ WR turned Raven a non-factor in Baltimore debut

Former Steeler and newly acquired Ravens WR Diontae Johnson had an underwhelming debut in Baltimore, making zero impact whatsoever.

While not every debut makes a splash, some fail to even make a ripple. This is exactly the reality Diontae Johnson faced in his first appearance with the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9. The former Steelers WR did his best impression of Roman Wilson’s regular-season debut. Not only did Johnson fail to record a single catch, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson didn’t target him at all during the contest. 

While his playing time was limited, similar to how Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin handled Wilson’s first career NFL regular-season game, his inability to make even a slight impact begs the question: was too much stock put into his arrival with the Ravens?

While Johnson has yet to be given the chance to highlight some of his less-than-lovable qualities, such as his tendency to give up on plays, his lack of consistency in run blocking, and his plethora of dropped passes, fans of Pittsburgh should be excited about the opportunity to showcase, in Week 11’s matchup with the Ravens, why acquiring Donte Jackson was well worth the price they paid in trading Johnson to Carolina. 

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Steelers fans react to Roman Wilson IR news

Roman Wilson’s injured hamstring resulted in the rookie being placed on IR. Here are some passionate fan reactions to the awful news.

The, ‘will Roman Wilson play’ drama, appears to be taking a short-term hiatus—four weeks at least—as the rookie’s hamstring injury resulted in the receiver being placed on injured reserve. In recent weeks, fans and reporters alike have been calling for clarification as to why Wilson was being used so sparingly, only playing for a total of 5 snaps in one game thus far in 2024. 

Some were quick to point out Wilson’s injuries leading up to his Week 5 debut; however, he was a healthy scratch in the weeks before this. Wilson also missed his team’s Week 6 game, but Tomlin argued that Wilson’s hamstring injury was less of a reason and that he had ‘moved on’ from the situation.

Fans of the Steel City were split on their initial reactions to Wilson being added to IR on Monday, and here are some of the passionate social media responses to the news. 

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Steelers’ Roman Wilson injury update spells bad news for WR corps

Bad news for Steelers wide receiver corps after team announces Roman Wilson injury update.

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve today, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. The 2024 third-rounder out of Michigan played in only one matchup this season: All of five snaps with zero targets in Week 6 versus the Las Vegas Raiders.

Wilson will miss at least the next four weeks. At the earliest, Wilson would be eligible to return for the Week 12 showdown versus Jameis Winston’s Cleveland Browns.

After spending most of training camp sidelined with a bum ankle, Wilson injured his hamstring in practice leading up to the Week 7 New York Jets game.

The Steelers won without Wilson — just as they have been — defeating Aaron Rodgers‘ Jets by a score of 37-15.

https://x.com/TomPelissero/status/1850991776082837588

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What exactly does Roman Wilson need to prove to Mike Tomlin?

Mike Tomlin stated that ‘moving on’ from Roman Wilson was due to the rookie not showing enough, but what exactly does he need to prove?

When is the last time Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin openly spoke about moving on from a rookie? Roman Wilson and questions about his gameday availability appear to be a thorn in the sides of Tomlin and Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith, as both have seemingly alluded to the rookie’s availability as vaguely as humanly possible. 

It was confirmed last week that Wilson’s hamstring injury was not the reason he was held out of Week 7’s contest, but rather that he didn’t prove himself enough to Tomlin. That seems to be the big question: what exactly does the rookie third-rounder need to do? 

Wilson will also miss Week 8’s Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants with the supposed hamstring ‘injury,’ but those who have seen the rookie in practice have stated that Wilson looks like he is the definitive WR2 for the offense. 

In Wilson’s debut game, the rookie was only used on five snaps, with zero targets and zero receptions to show for it.  It is clear that Tomlin is either seeing something that everyone else isn’t, or the rookie wide receiver has ruffled the feathers of his head coach in some way.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin ‘moved on’ from WR Roman Wilson

Injuries have limited Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson to one game in the 2024 season.

Availability is the best ability. And, simply put, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson hasn’t been available to Mike Tomlin. Short of five snaps (no targets) versus the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6, Wilson has had a non-existent rookie season, no thanks to an ankle injury sustained during the first week of training camp.

While ramping up for his second game in the Black and Gold last week, Wilson injured his hamstring during preparation for the New York Jets.

One of Tomlin’s least favorite things is to discuss players who are unavailable, but he addressed the absence of Wilson in Tuesday’s press conference:

He missed some practice time because of the hammy and as we’ve talked repeatedly in this setting, Roman needs to work for me to really consider him. His participation got compromised some last week and so really once it got compromised, I moved on.

The Steelers’ first practice of New York Giants week is on Wednesday, and we’ll see if Wilson’s name appears on the injury report again.

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Steelers’ rookie WR in danger of missing Week 7 contest

Roman Wilson is back on the injury report with an injured hamstring. The elevation of WRs lead many to believe Wilson will miss Week 7.

The rollercoaster of emotions, that is Roman Wilson’s health, is a neverending ride fans of the young player wish would stop.  After making his regular season debut in Week 6, fans were eager to see how Wilson would be involved in the gameplan moving forward.

Wilson was used sparingly in the team’s Week 6 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, catching zero balls, on zero targets, with only five snaps played.  It almost seemed as if OC Arthur Smith and HC Mike Tomlin played the rookie WR to avoid hearing his name any further in future media availabilities.

However, the third-round receiver out of Michigan suffered another injury setback in this practice this week.  While deemed questionable to play, the elevation of WR Brandon Johnson paints a picture in which Wilson will be downgraded to OUT.

The Russell to Roman Wilson debut is trending in the wrong direction, and it seems fans may have to wait additional time before they can see this duo tear up opposing secondaries together.

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Steelers injury updates: Rookie added to Thursday report with hamstring injury

The Steelers got Alex Highsmith back at practice on Thursday.

Thursday marks the final big day of work for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare to take on the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football. Friday will mark final roster decisions but Thursday is usually the most telling in terms of who is trending toward playing.

On Thursday we saw several prominent names on the report with new statuses. The headliner is edge Alex Highsmith who was a full participant. Highsmith has missed the last three games with a groin injury but his return cannot come soon enough after Nick Herbig injured his hamstring filling in for him.

Another surprise on the list was the new addition of wide receiver Roman Wilson. Wilson was back on the injury report and limited with a hamstring injury. Wilson has missed almost all of the season with this same injury but saw his first action last week.

No. 10 Roman Wilson (Hamstring) – Limited
No. 22 RB Najee Harris (Ribs) – Full
No. 23 S Damontae Kazee (Ankle) – Limited
No. 51 LB Nick Herbig (Hamstring) – DNP
No. 54 C Zach Frazier (Ankle) – DNP
No. 56 LB Alex Highsmith (Groin) – Full
No. 60 OT Dylan Cook (Foot) – Limited
No. 73 G Isaac Seumalo (NIR – Resting) – Full
No 81 TE MyCole Pruitt (Knee) – Full
No. 84 RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (Ankle) – DNP
No. 90 LB T.J. Watt (NIR – Resting) – Full
No. 97 DT Cameron Heyward (NIR – Resting) – DNP
No. 99 DT Larry Ogunjobi (NIR – Resting) – Limited

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Pittsburgh ignored their Wilsons in the Week 6 victory

The Steelers have once again ignored their talented Wilsons. The team could benefit from having Russell and Roman Wilson on the field.

It was theorized a few weeks ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loyalty to specific players was holding Russell and Roman Wilson back from succeeding. Last week, George Pickens stated that his lack of snaps in Week 5 was a decision made by offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Smith used WR Van Jefferson more often in that game, but where does this leave room for rookie WR Roman Wilson? He finally got his chance to debut in Week 6, yet was only used on five offensive snaps, while receivers Pickens, Jefferson, Austin, and Miller combined for over 126. 

Russell Wilson’s potential being wasted is something fans of the ‘Steel City’ have become accustomed to in recent weeks. QB Justin Fields didn’t outright beat Wilson for the position and hasn’t directly won Pittsburgh a game with his passing, yet Wilson remains the QB2. Fans have mixed reactions to Fields’ performance in Week 6, even though it was statistically his worst game of the season. Hopefully, Pittsburgh will utilize their pair of Wilsons more often moving forward.  

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Steelers fans react to Roman Wilson’s debut: 0 catches with 0 targets

Roman Wilson’s long awaited debut left much to be desired, as he was only given five snaps of offense to participate in.

Roman Wilson made his debut against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6, and while his team picked up the win on Sunday, supporters of the rookie third-round wide receiver out of Michigan were left disappointed.

Wilson’s regular season aspirations were put on hold when the rookie wide receiver suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss the entirety of training camp, as well as the Steelers first five games of season.

Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith hinted that his debut would take place “sooner or later”, but it appears they were leaning towards “sooner”.

Wilson was held without a catch in his regular season debut.  To make matters worse, he also didn’t receive a single target in the Steelers victory over the Raiders.  While holding Wilson to a snap count is understandable, allowing the young receiver to only participate in five offensive snaps is ridiculous.  Frustration from fans of the black and gold is completely understandable, and here are some of the best reactions from Wilson’s lackluster debut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Roman Wilson debut set for Week 6 vs Raiders

The debut fans have been waiting for is finally here! Roman Wilson is active for the first time all season, and will debut in Week 6.

Steelers fans rejoice!  After weeks of questions surrounding the health of rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson and his inevitable return, the dynamic playmaker will make his debut against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6.

It was reported the past couple of weeks that Wilson recorded six practices in full, but still was considered a healthy inactive come gametime for Week’s 4 and 5, much to the chagrin of Steelers fans.

Reporters were obviously bewildered, and asked head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for an explanation.

Tomlin understood the rookie’s desire to get on the field, but stated that “It’s very difficult to get on a moving train”.  Additionally, Smith acknowledged Wilson’s absence from training camp as a potential holdup to his debut.

What will Wilson’s involvement look like in Sunday’s contest?  Will Wilson finally give Pittsburgh the additional playmaker they have been so desperately searching for?  All eyes will be on rookie receiver as the Steelers take on the Raiders in Week 6, on October 13th, at 4:05 PM EST.

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