Does Roman Wilson have a place in Mike McCarthy’s offense?
Roman Wilson finished his second season in the NFL on the bench, so where will Mike McCarthy fit him now in Year 3? By the end of last year, Wilson spent his time watching Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling take his snaps. For whatever reason, the coaches didn’t see him as one of their top options, despite previous appearances.
A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Roman Wilson’s career hasn’t gone as the Steelers planned. He effectively missed his rookie season due to a series of injuries, and questions surfaced about his level of understanding of the offense. Last year, he seemed to make progress, even catching some touchdowns mid-season. Then all of a sudden, the Steelers made an about-face at wide receiver and he was on the bench.
Many have speculated that Aaron Rodgers and/or Arthur Smith kept Roman Wilson’s role to a minimum. Despite offering praise, Rodgers often seemed to be on a different page than the young receiver. Their replacing him with two very experienced veterans strengthened that theory, giving him targets he could trust to be where he expected them to be.
In that sense, if Aaron Rodgers played a big role in Wilson’s playing time, that problem potentially remains. Rodgers returning this season still feels like the most likely scenario. If so, and he has preferred to work with others over Wilson, how will that affect his immediate future?
Of course, we don’t even know if that’s true, or if it is, to what extent. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t embrace taking Roman Wilson under his wing this offseason and doing absolutely everything in his power to make him the best wide receiver he can possibly be. There’s no animosity there, but at the end of the day, a quarterback needs to trust his targets.
It’s clear that Wilson has to earn trust, and that starts with a new coaching staff. He has basically a new everything in that regard, and one hopes the new regime will coach him more effectively. They’re not going to cut him before training camp or anything. At a bare minimum, he will be in the mix and likely on the team. But will he play much, if at all, and what are the variables involved in dictating that?
The Steelers exited the playoffs in the first round yet again, a pattern going back to 2017.With seven consecutive postseason losses and no wins in nearly a decade, they are facing another long, long offseason. No doubt we will see many changes, but none will top Mike Tomlin’s resignation.
The NFL has crowned its latest champion, but for us and the Steelers, we have been in offseason mode. That’s what happens when the team you coverloses by the middle of January all the time, but you’ve been around, so you know that already. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
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