Steelers Training Camp Takeaways: Russell Wilson misses day one with a calf, Justin Fields takes advantage

While the Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off practice on Thursday, boasting the majority of their full squad, one man was surprisingly inactive.

That would be presumptive starting QB Russell Wilson, who was present at practice but didn't participate with what Coach Tomlin called: "Calf tightness."

More on what that entails, Justin Field's opportunity, and everything else that happened on day one of Steelers camp:

Wilson doesn't Practice

Wilson is known for his durability, seldom missing games throughout his career and playing even when he probably shouldn't. Mike Tomlin wanted to avoid any situation like that however, deciding to go against Wilson's wishes of letting him participate.

That opened the door for Justin Fields, however, and he took advantage.

Now, it must be noted that the Steelers still have a clear pecking order on their depth chart , with Mike Tomlin telling reporters as recently as last night that nothing had changed regarding Wilson's pole position.

But if he truly is day-to-day and Fields continues to progress and display the tangible traits that enticed the Steelers to trade for him in the first place, we may have a true QB battle on our hands after all.

No one holds in

Cam Heyward, Najee Harris, and Pat Freiermuth are all seeking new deals, but none staged a: "Hold-in." That's where some players report to camp but don't participate during the actual practices in fear of losing money if they were potentially injured.

Instead, the trio is showing that culture trumps all, as they have one goal in mind and that's a run at the Lombardi.

Offensive Lineups carry over from the Spring

Other than the QB position, the Steelers' offensive line and WR arrangement from OTAs carried over to the start of camp. Dan Moore Jr. was at left tackle, Nate Herbig played center, and Broderick Jones played right tackle, though the team would sub out Moore occasionally, flipping Broderick to LT and placing rookie first-rounder Troy Fautanu at RT.

In terms of the WRs, It was Geroge Pickens and Van Jefferson on the outside, with Calvin Austin III in the slot.

We'll see how that develops over the next few weeks.

Arthur Smith imprints his offense

What was obvious to those in attendance is that there was an entirely new sheriff in town at play caller. Arthur Smith deployed staples in his offense via formations and personnel groupings.

11 on 11 saw the usage of the pistol formation, FBs like Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington, multiple TEs, and wide zone runs.

The biggest beneficiary? Pat Freiermiuth, who was targeted throughout the day and brought in plenty of passes.

I'm sure that will continue going forward.

Steelers Defense Dominates

In what was a sloppy day for the offense, the defense didn't have any day one jitters, forcing multiple fumbles, pressuring the QB on the regular, and causing penalties like false starts.

It should also be noted that the team deployed their big nickel package with three safeties on the field. It featured Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee as the high safeties with DeShon Elliott in the slot.

Expect the defense to continue winning until the pads come on next week.