Quarterback Russell Wilson not pushing back on his delayed debut at Steelers training camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers changing the way they conduct their annual conditioning test is what contributed to the injury that has sidelined quarterback Russell Wilson for the first two days of training camp.

Wilson said Friday that he hurt his calf pushing a sled during a revamped conditioning drill that coach Mike Tomlin puts his players through on the day they report to Saint Vincent.

Wilson experienced tightness in his calf when he awakened Thursday and has spent the first two days of camp wearing a baseball cap and watching Justin Fields work with the first-team offense.

“When you’re working hard, sometimes things happen,” Wilson said. “The good news is things feel good, and we’ll get there in time.”

Not soon enough for the 35-year-old quarterback who joined the Steelers in the offseason to considerable fanfare.

“I want to get back today, yesterday, but coach says, ‘Listen, we’ve got some time here,’ ” Wilson said. “I got a lot of reps in the offseason. We’re not trying to rush it. We still have 20, 21 games to play.”

The Steelers will practice two more times before they receive their first day off in training camp. When players return Tuesday, they will put on pads for the first time.

Neither Wilson nor coach Mike Tomlin put a time frame on the quarterback’s return.

“He’s got a minor thing that I don’t want to become a major thing,” Tomlin said.

If his attire is any indication that Wilson might be nearing a return, he wore his football pants Friday after donning shorts for the opening workout.

Wilson was the only reported casualty of the conditioning test, which used to consist of a series of sprints and light running that spanned the length of a football field. But with the Steelers overhauling their strength and conditioning staff in the offseason, a new approach was taken Wednesday. Among the changes to the conditioning test was players pushing a sled at various intervals.

“I’m always open to the new things associated with new personnel,” Tomlin told reporters after the test concluded.

Wilson said he “felt something” in his calf muscle on his fourth or fifth attempt pushing the sled. He smiled when asked the last time he had to push a sled as part of a workout.

“It’s been a little while, but it’s all good,” he said.

Fans who filled the stands and hillside along Chuck Noll Field were anticipating Wilson’s training camp debut with the Steelers. The veteran quarterback shared their enthusiasm and was disappointed when Tomlin held him out of the first two days of drills.

“I love practice,” Wilson said. “I hate missing practice, and I hate not being out there. It’s always been a thing for me.”

For the second day in a row, Fields took first-team snaps at quarterback. The Steelers acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears a day after they traded two-year starter Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia. Fields worked with the second-team offense for much of offseason workouts.

“Like I talked to the team about, very rarely — particularly at this stage of the journey — do I worry about who is not working,” Tomlin said. “I view it more as an opportunity for those that are working, those that get elevated opportunities because of it and how units respond to the absence of people.”

Wilson hasn’t spent the past two days idly. He has watched each practice from the field and exchanged information with quarterbacks coach Tom Arth and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. And he stayed after practice to throw passes to some of the team’s wide receivers.

“You’re always taking things in,” he said. “The knowledge that you can gain, from the meetings to the walk-through to the field to post-practice and communication during practice and between periods. It’s critical. It’s everything. I’ve been a big believer that the little things matter, the details.”