It's been a rough start to Roman Wilson's career, and fans are hoping he finally leaps forward in Year 3. But as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for their Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons, Aaron Rodgers just gave us a new reason to doubt the young receiver.
After struggling to get going in the first two exhibition games, head coach Mike McCarthy decided to give him the night off in the preseason finale. This was a decision that stirred controversy, and Wilson was looking to silence doubters. Unfortunately, his latest mishap is only going to have Steelers fans on edge.
During practice on Wednesday, Rodgers threw an interception to Asante Samuel Jr. on a pass intended for Wilson. Rodgers spoke to the media after practice, and when asked what went wrong that led to the interception, he wasn't afraid to call out his wide receiver, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
"Yeah, Roman [Wilson] made a repeat mistake. You know, that's a good learning experience, 'cause I don't think he's going to do that again. But he did the same thing early in training camp, and we said, 'Hey, on that under route, you gotta keep coming.'
I think it's the best thing that happened in practice. Roman is a great kid, he's had a fantastic camp. I have the utmost confidence in him. You know, he's gonna have to play a big role for us, but mistakes are gonna happen. That's a great one to happen in practice."
Pittsburgh Steelers fans have reason to doubt Roman Wilson again after latest practice mishap
We learned pretty quickly this summer that there was a reason Wilson wasn't getting on the field last year. In fact, the Steelers had so little trust in the inexperienced wideout that Wilson became a healthy scratch down the stretch while going with washed-up veterans like Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Sadly, the mental errors have continued throughout the summer, and it's not encouraging to hear that Wilson repeated the same costly mistake he made early in training camp.
When I put on the all-22 film, I see a shifty wideout who explodes off the snap and can gain separation with quick movements out of his breaks. But the ability to separate hardly makes him a great route runner.
In Mike McCarthy's offense—and with Rodgers, especially—Wilson has to prove that he can be in the right place on his route at the right time. And it's concerning that we are still hearing about these issues with just over a week until the Steelers' Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Despite this, Rodgers still praised Wilson as a great kid and having a fantastic training camp. But trying to boost his confidence will only get the young wide receiver so far; the rest is up to Wilson.
Entering his third season and with just 12 receptions under his belt, Wilson is going to be on a short leash—there's no doubt about that. Rookie second-round pick Germie Bernard will be nipping at his heels for an opportunity to make his presence felt early in his NFL career.
Wilson could prove to be a go-to option from the slot and one of the best separators on the team in 2026. But if he makes a mistake like this in a game early in the season, he might be out of chances to make an impact on the Steelers.
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