With the Steelers playing on a short week, Mike Tomlin's team wrapped up their week of practice on Thursday. Pittsburgh will host the Cincinnati Bengals in a pivotal AFC North showdown with playoff seeding on the line.
During practice this week, the Steelers injury report looked extremely encouraging. After dealing with the absence of several important starters over the past several weeks, Pittsburgh is approaching full strength.
What was most encouraging was to see players like Roman Wilson, Cole Holcomb, and Logan Lee practice all week after dealing with injuries. Wilson played just five snaps during his rookie season while Holcomb landed on IR in the middle of the season last year after suffering a gruesome knee injury.
Despite seven out of ten players on the injury report logging a full practice over the last two days in preparation for the Bengals game, three players have been ruled out this week.
Final Steelers injury report for Week 18:
Player | Position | Injury | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Justin Fields | QB | Abdominal | FP | FP | FP | |
Russell Wilson | QB | NIR - Rest | LP | FP | FP | |
Roman Wilson | WR | Hamstring | FP | FP | FP | OUT |
Ben Skowronek | WR | Hip | LP | FP | FP | |
Joey Porter Jr. | CB | Knee | FP | FP | FP | |
Donte Jackson | CB | Back | - | LP | LP | Questionable |
Jaylen Warren | RB | Ribs | LP | FP | FP | |
Cole Holcomb | LB | Knee | LP | LP | LP | OUT |
Logan Lee | DL | Calf | LP | LP | LP | OUT |
Isaac Seumalo | OG | NIR - Rest | DNP | FP | FP |
The Steelers opened up the 21-day practice window for Wilson, Holcomb, and Lee to return to the field. After Holcomb and Lee failed to log a full practice this week (and considering they missed the whole season so far) it was not surprising to see these two defenders ruled out for this contest.
For Wilson, however, the case could have been different. Wilson logged a full week of practice and looked like the most explosive wide receiver in drills this week.
The rookie receiver spoke to the media and insisted that he feels 'really good' and that he's 'determined'.
#Steelers rookie WR Roman Wilson says his body is feeling great.
— Aaron Becker (@Aaron_M_Becker) January 1, 2025
“I feel really good. My body feels better than it’s ever felt in a long time. Mentally … just focused, determined. I got a lot of expectations for myself.” pic.twitter.com/pJ4ywmA1GS
But despite showing that he's physically ready to go, the third-round rookie wide receiver will have to wait until at least the Wild Card round of the playoffs to see the field. This is a questionable decision by the coaching staff, as the Steelers are desperate for a spark at the wide receiver position.
Not giving Wilson a week to get the wheels turning and earn some much-needed snaps in the regular season finale means it's unlikely he will be able to shake the rust off before the playoffs. It was a hope and a prayer that Wilson could help turn a struggling passing offense around, but the Steelers have reached desperation mode.
It's unlikely Wilson would have been the savior of the offense, but the hope was to get him prepared for the playoffs where perhaps he could offer this team a spark. Instead, the Steelers will continue to look to underwhelming options like Calvin Austin, Van Jefferson, and Mike Williams to give them something in the receiving game opposite George Pickens.
The good news is that this team is mostly at full strength for their Week 18 home game against the Bengals.