Roman Wilson opened Steelers training camp looking like a player determined to change the conversation around him.
The third-year wide receiver out of Michigan has not gotten off to the kind of start any third-round pick wants in the NFL, and with two years left on his rookie deal, the urgency is obvious. Pittsburgh needed a strong first day from him at St.
Vincent College. Wilson delivered one.
Wearing his new No. 14, Wilson stood out in the team’s first on-field practice and made himself a regular target throughout the session.
He was working with the first-team offense early in 11-on-11 drills when Aaron Rodgers hit him with a line-drive throw across the field. It was the kind of clean, routine connection that can still matter plenty for a player trying to reestablish trust.
That was only the start. Rodgers kept looking his way later in practice, and Wilson also drew passes from Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar. He was one of the most consistent players on the field all day.
His best stretch came during 7-on-7 work, when Rodgers targeted him three times in the first five snaps of the drill and completed two of them. It may not sound dramatic, but for Wilson, it represented a real step forward after ending the 2025 season on the outside looking in. Now he’s working his way back into the mix, and he’s doing it while pushing rookie Germie Bernard for a role.
If Wilson really is turning a corner, that changes the picture for the Steelers’ offense. Pittsburgh struggled last season because it didn’t have enough reliable secondary options in the passing game. Wilson’s emergence would give the team another layer and, if he keeps building on this start, could help create the deepest receiver group the Steelers have had in years.
That’s the swing factor here. If Wilson keeps climbing and produces in 2026, Pittsburgh’s passing game suddenly looks a lot more dangerous. If he slips back into the form he showed in his first two seasons, the questions around the receiver room remain.
For now, though, Wilson has the attention of the organization and the fan base. The challenge is keeping it.
In Other News...
Steelers Just Lost A Quarterback Safety Net Behind Aaron Rodgers
The Steelers had been keeping an eye on Cooper Rush as a possible fallback behind Aaron Rodgers, especially with Mike McCarthys old Dallas connection making him a familiar name in the building. Rush had long looked like the kind of steady veteran who could fit as a practice squad insurance policy if Pittsburgh decided to move on from Mason Rudolph, giving the team a little more certainty in a quarterback room that already had some uncertainty built into it.
Now that option is off the board, and the Steelers are left sorting through a depth chart that still includes Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar behind Rodgers. Rudolph remains the only other quarterback on the roster with game experience, which makes the next roster decision more important than it might have seemed a week ago, especially if the team wants a more proven hand waiting in the wings during cutdown season. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Camp Decision Is Raising Eyebrows For One Frustrating Reason
The Steelers are heading into training camp with a familiar defensive concern hanging over them, even as the methods around it change. After a season in which missed tackles became a recurring issue, the coaching staff is expected to lean on non-contact teaching to clean up fundamentals, using drills and equipment rather than full-speed collisions to sharpen pursuit angles, wrapping up and the decision of when to go low or high.
For a team that prides itself on physical defense, the choice is drawing attention because the problem it is trying to solve is one that usually gets addressed best in live action. Pittsburgh will get plenty of work on technique, but the real question is whether those reps can translate once the pads come on and the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Camp Already Has Fans Watching One Situation Very Closely
The first days of Steelers training camp have already put a familiar pressure point in view, with Joey Porter Jr. opening on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list as the team settles into a new camp routine under Mike McCarthy. Porters status is being treated as precautionary rather than a major setback, but it is still the kind of early-summer note that gets attention in Pittsburgh, especially with Jalen Ramsey and Donte Kent also on the PUP list and the roster battles beginning to take shape around them.
There is a broader backdrop to all of it, too, with the Steelers limiting tackling in camp and trying to manage bodies carefully while the competition ramps up. Aaron Rodgers has also become part of the daily camp conversation, rooming with D.K. Metcalf as the new-look offense takes form, while Kents path looks especially difficult from a roster standpoint. For a team trying to balance health, evaluation, and urgency, the status of the secondary is one of the first things worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]