Three players to watch in Steelers' preseason finale

The Pittsburgh Steelers are traveling to Detroit to take on the Lions in their preseason finale on Saturday. It provides the last opportunity for several players to make their case as starters or to make the 53-man roster.

With that in mind, here are three Steelers to watch.

Quarterback Russell Wilson

On Thursday, head coach Mike Tomlin said that "the plan is to play all healthy people" while confirming that Wilson would start against the Lions.

It wasn't a surprising decision following Wilson's first showing this preseason, in which he threw for just 47 yards and was held scoreless with the first-team offense.

Wilson remains in the "pole position" to be the team's Week 1 starter but if he hopes to fend off fellow quarterback Justin Fields for long, he must turn in stronger preseason results this weekend.

While there has been some panic about the offense's early struggles, the 35-year-old is not worried.

"Somebody asked me, 'Are you concerned right now or anything else?,'" Wilson asked . "Absolutely not ... because the level of practices we've had against one of the best defenses every day, and how we've shown up there."

Center Zach Frazier

Frazier has been behind veteran center Nate Herbig on Pittsburgh's depth chart during training camp. But on Tuesday, the team placed Herbig on the reserve/injured list, all but ending his 2024 season.

The second-round pick is now slated to be the starting center, which was his aim even before Herbig's unfortunate injury.

"That's always been my goal," Frazier said . "I didn't want to be a backup. I was gonna shoot to earn that starting job. That's just my mentality. I always want to be on the field and earn it if I can."

It would take something unforeseen for Frazier to lose the job at this point. So as long as he stays healthy and continues playing the way he has been, he'll have the job cemented by the end of the weekend.

Cornerback Beanie Bishop

The Steelers slot cornerback battle is still anyone's for the taking, especially given the number of injuries to the group thus far.

"It's not hard because there's nobody there. I mean, it's easy. Whoever shows up gets it. That's about where we are right now," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said . "We'll see how that shakes out. That's going to go down to the last second."

The favorite to win the job is Bishop, who has arguably been the most-surprising star of training camp as an undrafted rookie.

Bishop didn't play in last weekend's preseason game due to an injury, though, with Tomlin noting that he hasn't yet seen enough from the former West Virginia standout.

"Absolutely not," Tomlin stated.

Bishop will be available for Saturday's preseason finale and can make his final case to not only survive roster cuts but to be named a starter.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.