Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (calf) was sidelined for the third straight day Friday as a calf strain still hampers him. While Wilson did not participate, he was seen working with the wideouts post-practice. This is an encouraging sign for him, and the Steelers are likely just playing it safe with their new signal caller. While the former Denver Bronco has yet to have the success he did early on in his Seahawk days, he did have a minor bounce-back season in 2023. The Wisconsin product scored 30 fantasy points more in 2023 than in 2022, and he currently finds himself with his best cast of weapons since his departure from Seattle. He's in the QB30 range in drafts and has some sleeper appeal in best-ball and 2QB formats.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that there weren't any setbacks with quarterback Russell Wilson's calf injury, and he just wanted "to keep a minor thing from becoming major." Wilson was held out of training camp practice for a second straight day due to a minor calf injury, but there's no timetable for the 35-year-old veteran to return to the field. It's an injury that shouldn't affect Wilson's readiness for the start of his first year in Pittsburgh, but at the same time, he's missing valuable reps to gain chemistry with his receivers while learning a new offense. In the meantime, former Chicago Bears first-round QB Justin Fields is running the first-team offense. Wilson looked like shell of his former self in Denver the last two years and doesn't have enough receiving weapons around him in the Steel City to make him anything more than a low-upside QB2 in fantasy.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields was surprised early Thursday morning to learn that he would take all the reps with the first-team offense on the first day of Steelers' training camp. Mike Tomlin decided to hold Russell Wilson out for the time being with a sore calf muscle. "I decided to sit (Wilson) down today and create a little short-term discomfort for him, not allowing the small problem to become a bigger problem," Tomlin said. He characterized Wilson as day-to-day. Meanwhile, Fields looked sharp during portions of Thursday's practice and, at other times, looked like someone still trying to figure it out. The Steelers shocked the world when they brought in both Wilson and Fields this offseason, and a bit of a quarterback competition would probably do them both some good. Wilson -- if healthy -- appears to be locked in as Pittsburgh's starter, but this will be a situation to monitor all the way up until Week 1.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that quarterback Russell Wilson (calf) "woke up with a tight calf" on Thursday and was held out of training camp practice. Tomlin is calling Wilson day-to-day. With Wilson taking the day off, backup Justin Fields got first-team repetitions. The 35-year-old Wilson probably won't miss much time and is still fully expected to open the 2024 regular season as Pittsburgh's QB1 after two disappointing seasons with the Denver Broncos. At this point in his career, Wilson's leadership abilities are probably his greatest asset on the football field. In what is expected to be more of a run-first Steelers offense, Wilson will be more of a game manager in his first year in the Steel City and won't have a ton of fantasy upside as a low-end QB2 in fantasy with receiver George Pickens as his No. 1 wideout.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back/returner Cordarrelle Patterson (hamstring) was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list on Wednesday. Patterson suffered the injury during offseason training and is not cleared to practice. The injury is thought to be day-to-day, but the team placed him on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list until he can return to the team. Patterson has familiarity with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and is likely to see the bulk of his work in the return game with some utilization in the running game as depth behind incumbent starters Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Patterson is best left undrafted in fantasy leagues but could find more work if an injury happened to either Harris or Warren.