LATROBE - The Steelers held their first practice of training camp 2024 here Thursday in front of thousands of fans. But there was one important component missing.
Quarterback Russell Wilson did not participate in the session, which was limited by CBA rules to being non-padded and just an hour and a half in length.
"Russ woke up today and his calf was tight," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "It was my decision to sit him down today and create a little short-term discomfort for him, not allowing the small problem to become a bigger problem. He could be characterized as day-to-day. But on the flip side of that it was an awesome opportunity for Justin (Fields) and the challenge for our offense as a unit to deal with a little adversity at the outset."
Wilson and Fields are part of a revamped quarterback room for the Steelers, as the team brought in both this offseason, along with veteran Kyle Allen and undrafted rookie John Rhys Plumlee, completely making over the unit from a year ago.
Wilson, 35, has gotten the first-team reps throughout the offseason program. But the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and former Super Bowl winner, who was signed as a free agent, sitting out Thursday gave Fields an opportunity to practice with the first-team offense.
"He was excited about the opportunity to lead that first group out of the huddle and taking charge today," Tomlin said.
The Steelers acquired Fields, 25, from the Chicago Bears via a trade in the offseason. The former 11th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft became available when Chicago got the first-overall pick in this year's draft and decided to take quarterback Caleb Williams.
Wilson has been incredibly durable over the course of his NFL career, making every start for the Seattle Seahawks from 2012 through 2020. But Tomlin didn't want to push things this early in training camp.
"I'm getting to know him," Tomlin said. "And I just chose to create a little misery for him and the offense as a unit."
Wilson was the only new addition to the Steelers' injury report today as the team began practicing under the league's heat acclimation rules. Per those rules, the Steelers will not have a practice in pads until Tuesday.
But Tomlin was pleased with the tempo and pace he saw at practice Thursday.
"We've got a lot of work in front of us, man, but I just felt like we got the train out of the station today in a pretty good fashion," Tomlin said.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
