Russell Wilson's career with the Pittsburgh Steelers is off to an inauspicious start .
Just days before the Steelers are set to kick off the 2024 NFL season against the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh listed the star quarterback as questionable heading into Sunday's game due to a calf injury . Of note, Wilson did not practice Friday and typically, if a player does not practice on Friday, the odds are he will miss a Sunday game.
It is also being reported that Wilson be examined Saturday to make sure he is good to go for Sunday or if he will miss the first game of the season. Despite missing practice and being ruled questionable, Wilson told reporters he would play if he was sure he wouldn't injure himself.
"If I'm ready to go, I will go," Wilson said to reporters Friday, according to NFL.com . "I just felt a little tight and just wanted to be smart about it. Obviously [we] play the game on Sunday. I'm hoping to be in it but just trying to get ready to go."
Wilson added that the injury could be worse, claiming the additional testing Thursday showed "good news" regarding the severity of the injury. "It wasn't something worse, extremely worse or anything like that, so that was good news," he said, according to ESPN .
"I've got to be smart and obviously we're trying to play 20 to 21 games, so I'm trying to play in all [of them], obviously, and that's kind of my mentality, and how we want to go about it. The most important thing is just tons of treatment and getting ready to see what I can do each day and take [it] day by day."
The calf issue is something that the Steelers have been monitoring over the last handful of days. Although Wilson is at the tail end of his career, head coach Mike Tomlin believes the injury does not affect what the Steelers will do against the Falcons, if the 35-year-old is unable to suit up.
“His calf got tight, so we wanted to exercise some precaution," Tomlin told reporters Thursday. "We'll see what tomorrow looks like and kind of go from there. It really doesn't [affect game-planning] at all, to be honest with you."
With Wilson's status in the air, Justin Fields is slated to be the starting signal-caller for the Steelers. If Fields does start for the Steelers, Tomlin explained he was "extremely comfortable" having the former Chicago Bears quarterback under center.
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For his part, Fields claimed he was ready for whatever happened, whether he was a starter or coming off the bench. During his time with Chicago, the volatility of the position was something he learned to accept.
"I have the same process every week," Fields said, according to ESPN . "I learned my rookie year how fast things can change.
"I remember my third game, rookie season, Andy Dalton, he was just running out of bounds and looked like a normal play, and he tweaked his knee and then right then and there I was in. So I always prepare like I'm a starter. ... You just never know what can happen."
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