Inactivity takes shine off Steelers QB's Russell Wilson's impending return to Denver

Russell Wilson has gone from holding the pole position at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers to being parked in the garage for repairs.

Signs point to Wilson serving as the emergency third quarterback for the second week in a row when the Steelers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Empower Field.

As has been the case since he aggravated a calf injury last week, Wilson was limited in practice Thursday, increasing the likelihood Justin Fields will make his second consecutive start for the Steelers with Kyle Allen dressing as the backup.

Standing on the sideline knowing his chances of playing are minuscule wasn’t the role Wilson envisioned for his return to Denver, particularly with that franchise paying nearly $40 million for the 35-year-old quarterback to play for the Steelers.

“The first part is the will,” Wilson said after practice Thursday. “I’ve got the will. The second part is you have to physically be able to do everything. I’m getting there.”

Just not quickly enough to, in all likelihood, make his starting debut for the Steelers against his former team. After starting the opener at Atlanta, Fields continued to take the first-team snaps in practice, a routine that began last Thursday when Wilson reinjured his calf during the team walkthrough that precedes practice.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that the Steelers would get Fields prepared to start against the Broncos, and he has held true to that stance — much to Wilson’s dismay.

“Anybody who knows me knows I always want to go and play,” Wilson said. “That’s how I get my mind ready, my body ready for that. I believe you have to play dinged up sometimes. Coach and the trainers want to be smart. It’s early in the season.”

The Broncos cut Wilson loose two years into a five-year, $242 million contract they gave him before the 2022 season. He lasted just one year with current coach Sean Payton, who will use first-round draft pick Bo Nix at quarterback against the Steelers.

Wilson insisted he has no hard feelings against the Broncos.

“I have a lot of amazing friends from there,” he said, rattling off about a dozen names. “For me, it’s always about relationships. I think I built some cool relationships with those guys.”

He also downplayed the return to the mile-high city.

“It’s a big game for us because it’s the next game,” he said.

Injured during a conditioning drill on the eve of the first training camp workout, Wilson acknowledged Thursday the initial calf injury was “pretty strong, a pretty good calf injury.”

“That was disappointing,” he said. “We kept our head down, worked our butts off and I got well. I spent a lot of time to get ready. When I tweaked it again … I have to be smart here and not crazy push it too bad. That was the frustrating part. I want to be out there between the white lines with my teammates.”

Instead, Fields appears poised to see if he can build on his own Steelers debut, in which he completed 17 of 23 passes for 156 yards and rushed for 57 more on 14 carries in the Steelers’ 18-10 victory. His passer rating was a respectable 91.9.

“It’s very important,” Fields said. “More importantly for the team than me. I have a job, and that’s to lead us to a win each and every week. We can have this debate about who’s the starter, but my job is to go in there and help my team win the game. As long as I do that, I feel good.”

A negative for Fields was that none of the Steelers’ 10 offensive possessions finished in the end zone. Six field goals from Chris Boswell accounted for the Steelers’ points. Then again, it was just the first game of the season and came after a two-week break since the end of the preseason.

“We’ve been practicing long enough to punch it in and score touchdowns,” he said. “I don’t want to put that excuse out there. I don’t think that is the case. We put in a lot of time working in the red zone, working in Seven Shots every day in training camp. I would say we’re the most prepared to push it in.”

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith designed a plan for Fields that didn’t include passes down the middle of the field. As Atlanta’s former head coach, Smith was all too familiar with Falcons safety Jesse Bates and the impact he can make in a secondary.

“Don’t let their best player wreck the game,” Smith said. “Our Jason Bourne — T.J. Watt — wrecked the game. Theirs didn’t.”

Fields also connected on two deep passes with wide receiver George Pickens, one for 33 yards and the other for 40. Each helped set up a Boswell field goal.

“He was very disciplined,” Smith said. “He didn’t get greedy. When the shots were there, we took advantage of them. That will change week to week, but the way the game flowed, he played very disciplined, which is why he had an efficient day.”