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LATROBE, Pa. -- Most of Russell Wilson's days in training camp start the same way. He gets up "super early," gets a workout in and gets "ready to rock and roll" for a day's worth of work. But as training camp has carried on, the amount of work he takes on has become more of a conversation with doctors, trainers and Mike Tomlin.
Ever since suffering a calf injury while pushing a weighted sled during a conditioning test on the day players reported to Saint Vincent College for training camp, Wilson has been chomping at the bit to get back into team activities. He watched from the sideline for a few practices and then started handing the ball off during 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s before ramping it up even more and starting to throw passes during 7-on-7s.
Tuesday afternoon was the first time he threw more than one pass during team drills. He participated in seven shots and goal line situations and also threw during 11-on-11 team drills. So as Wilson continues to work his way back, I asked him about his return process and how his daily workload is being developed.
"We try to be really smart with how much I'm doing every day, but we're pushing it every day too," he said. "I'm the kind of guy that wants to go, go, go all the time and coach Tomlin is like 'Alright, we'll just pull you back a little bit.' I think that balance is really good, ya know?"
Throughout this process, Tomlin has said that he's holding Wilson back. He's still trying to get to know him, his work ethic, pain tolerance and has said previously that Wilson had "a minor thing that, I don't want to become a major thing."
But dealing with veterans, and their workloads is nothing new in the Steelers organization and is something that they do consistently. Isaac Seumalo spoke on the advantages of having "veteran maintenance days" on Sunday and T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick are consistently getting days off as well. So, Wilson is trusting the process when it comes to returning to the field, fully.
"Obviously, it's a great organization with a great understanding," Wilson said. "We have a lot of great vets and they know how to deal with us in terms of TJ, Cam, Minkah, myself. I think that communication is really good and I think that's what you want in a player. You want to be able to communicate and give them a 'Hey, I feel great today.' and they're like 'Alright, let's push, but let's also be smart.' But I've been feeling great every day and we have a plan every day and we're definitely doing a great job with it."
But that workload is continuing to be managed. Tomlin announced Wednesday morning that Wilson would be held from the team's first preseason game on Friday against the Houston Texans. Justin Fields will also start that game and could play a "couple of series," Tomlin said.
During seven shots on Wednesday, Wilson and Fields split the first six snaps. Wilson handed the ball off to Najee Harris for a score on the first play, missed Van Jefferson on a quick out route to the left side two plays later and then handed the ball off to Jaylen Warren for another score.
Wilson also hit Dez Fitzpatrick with a beautiful fade ball over Kalon Barnes during a 1-on-1 coverage drill and also completed passes to Jefferson and Calvin Austin during a 7-on-7 period. His return to team drills has been beneficial for both himself and the Steelers and he said he's enjoyed getting back into the fray.
"I've been involved in doing all the drills and everything for the past seven, eight days, or how many ever days it's been, but to be fully in there, actually with the team drills, it feels great," Wilson said.
But one of the main benefits of having Wilson increase his workload is the chemistry he gets to build with his receivers. During the early practices of training camp, he would pull Roman Wilson or Pat Freiermuth aside after practice and throw several passes to them, while also discussing ball placement and timings on routes.
However, nothing matches up to developing chemistry during live, 11-on-11, action like Wilson has been able to the past few days. Here's what he had to say about doing just that:
"It's been great, guys have been lights out, we've been making plays left and right, we feel really confident about the guys that we have. Our line is doing a tremendous job of giving us space and making sure that we can deliver the ball on time and on the money and that's what part of the game is. Our guys are making big-time plays."
As Wilson continues to work his back the offense will continue to be a work in progress. But, the veteran quarterback has full confidence in Arthur Smith and the pieces they have in place to get the job done. It also helps that they go against the likes of Watt, Heyward, Highsmith, Fitzpatrick and others every day in practice.
"I think we are progressing in a great fashion," Wilson said about the new offense under Smith. "When we get to play against somebody, that's when we get to see where we really are. I think that tells you a lot. I think we'll be prepared and we'll be ready to rock and roll. We have great confidence. The good thing is we get to go against one of the best defenses in the world every day and that really helps us prepare."
