In the grand scheme of things, preseason results for a team don’t matter. One month into the regular season, nobody remembers the record of their favorite team.
But individual results? They matter a great deal.
And that’s definitely something to take out of Saturday night’s 17-14 preseason loss by the Steelers to Tampa Bay at Acrisure Stadium.
Yes, the Steelers lost the game. But given the fact they were sitting a number of front-line players – as were the Bucs – it’s not all that important.
What the Steelers’ coaching staff did need to see, however, was some solid play from younger players looking to make a mark on this year’s roster. And in this game, the Steelers got to see that.
Though the Bucs held out a number of starters, they did have their starting secondary in place. That didn’t matter to second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson, who beat Jamel Dean for a 42-yard catch down the middle of the field and then Kendal Vidor for a 30-yard catch-and-run on the final play of the first quarter before calling it a day.
If that had been Wilson’s lone contribution of the preseason, it would be one thing. But last week against Jacksonville’s starting defense, he hauled in two passes for 24 yards in limited duty early in the game.
Overall, Wilson has played around 40 offensive snaps, but has caught four passes for 96 yards.
For a player who, because of injuries, was limited to five offensive snaps last season, it’s a big step forward.
“He’s had a good camp and he’s backed that up with some quality in-stadium play,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of Wilson. “(I) feel good about the overall trajectory of him. We’ve got another game in a couple of more (days) and that time is critical for a young guy, so he has to keep his foot on the gas and keep working.”
In other words, the job isn’t complete.
The Steelers had big plans for Wilson, a third-round pick in 2024. But he kept getting bitten by the injury bug. So, while the team likes where he is heading, he still has plenty of work to do to find his way completely into the circle of trust. But he has done a good job this offseason and preseason of doing what was needed to make that happen.
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