Mike Tomlin announces seven Steelers who won't play in preseason opener

The Steelers are preparing for their first preseason action on Friday when they host the Texans.

Teams typically use preseason openers as an opportunity for players on the fringes to make a case for themselves on the 53-man roster, but it seems these two teams are taking a slightly different approach.

On Monday, head coach DeMeco Ryans said the Texans' first-team offense would play, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

That would have provided a great first opportunity for the Steelers defense, but on Wednesday, head coach Mike Tomlin announced seven players, five of which are defenders, who will not play on Friday.

Among those players are quarterback Russell Wilson, guard Isaac Seumalo, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, linebackers T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Patrick Queen and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

While the list mostly contains defenders, the most notable name is Wilson.

The 35-year-old has been limited for much of training camp with a calf injury. He is also in the midst of a quarterback competition with Justin Fields, who has taken full advantage of his first-team reps in Wilson's absence.

It will give Fields yet another opportunity to make his case as QB1, but Tomlin confirmed that Wilson still has the "pole position."

"You guys saw our depth chart yesterday. That is real," he said .

Pittsburgh did release its first depth chart on Tuesday, but if history tells us anything, it's not to be taken too seriously. The battle between Wilson and Fields could prove that to be true again over the next few weeks.

Fields is getting the nod to start and will earn " a couple series " with the first-team offense. If he performs like he has for most of training camp, he'll shorten the gap between him and Wilson even more with just two preseason games left before the regular season.