LATROBE, Pa. – From a quarterback rotation standpoint, it was status quo. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields again split the reps with the first-team offense during Wednesday's training camp practice. Also in the status quo department, Wilson still throws a very nice ball.
Wilson has had to work himself back after injuring a calf during the conditioning test on the day players reported to Saint Vincent College, but it's clear that whatever happened to his calf has not adversely impacted his right arm. In 5 of his 12 NFL seasons, Wilson completed better than 65 percent of his passes, and he has shown a high level of accuracy and touch on his throws throughout his first training camp with the Steelers.
During 7-Shots, Wilson would've been assigned an incompletion for not connecting with WR Van Jefferson on the third play of the drill, but the throw was delivered on time and was accurate. It only was incomplete because Jefferson didn't get his head turned around quickly enough to see the ball.
During a different period later in the day's practice, however, Wilson and Jefferson hooked up on a beautiful play where the quarterback threw the receiver open, with the result being a perfectly placed ball that was caught in stride at the right pylon for a touchdown.
2-MINUTE
The day's practice ended with a session of 2-minute, with the offense getting the ball on its 40-yard line with 1:50 on the clock, with 1 timeout and needing to score a touchdown to win. No. 4 quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was given the reins, which indicates he may see playing time at the end of a half in the preseason opener on Friday.
Plumlee moved the offense 26 yards to a couple of first downs before the drive ended with four straight incomplete passes.
NOTES
The Steelers again utilized their two special teams periods of the practice to work on the new kickoff rule. One was devoted to kickoff return and the other to kickoff coverage … WR Dez Fitzpatrick was the only offensive player among the 11 on the field during the coverage period … During the return period, it seemed as though the blocking was set up to create a crease over the numbers instead of down the middle or along the sideline … The Steelers will have a walk-through type workout on Thursday, and it will be their final on-field session before the preseason opener at 7 p.m. on Friday vs. Houston at Acrisure Stadium.
TOMLIN'S INJURY UPDATE
"In terms of player availability, I have about seven guys that I'm scheduled not to utilize in this Friday's game (vs. Houston). Isaac Seumalo on the offensive line, Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith along the defensive front. We'll get those guys ready to play. Those guys are veteran guys. They know what they're doing. I don't have any intentions of playing them in this game. But equally as important, it's just going to provide additional opportunity for others that I know less about, and maybe who need more runway from a preparation standpoint. And so, we're going to go with that group in terms of watching. There have been some guys who have dealt with minor training camp injuries and things of that nature that has limited them some. They won't participate as well. Talking about some established guys: Russell Wilson, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Patrick Queen – those seven guys I don't have any intentions of utilizing in the game. Everybody else, I'm going to have an inclusive mentality about some of the guys who are dealing with minor training camp injuries and so forth that limit them in some way. I'm going to leave the light on for everyone else. I'm hopeful that everyone else will have an opportunity to participate."
