Mike Tomlin Offers Advice to Steelers Rookie Roman Wilson

The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie is still waiting for his NFL debut.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson (10) walks down the tunnel before a preseason game against Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, August 24, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers entered this season with a big question mark hovering over the wide receiver room. After trading former third-round pick Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, recent third-round pick Roman Wilson inherited big expectations.

But the Michigan product has yet to see an NFL snap. Wilson, the youngest receiver and fourth-youngest player on the active roster, suffered a difficult setback when he sprained his ankle early in training camp. For a young rookie like Wilson, missing those reps can't help.

Three games and three wins later, all hope is not lost for Wilson's debut to come sooner rather than later. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin offered Wilson some advice for when his number is called on.

"He just gotta keep working," Tomlin said. "It is very difficult to get on a moving train."

The Steelers are certainly moving. The Steelers are undefeated and hold a two-game lead over the rest of the AFC North — the first time since Week 16 of the 2020 season. Even with the Steelers' success, Wilson has a teammate who has successfully hopped on the train he can look towards.

"All you gotta do is look at Dean Lowry, for example," Tomlin said. "There's a veteran guy that missed a substantial amount of training camp and it was his third game before he got a hat although he's been healthy for three weeks. And so that gets multiplied when you're talking about a guy that has no NFL experience like [Wilson]."

Lowry is a nine-year NFL veteran in his first stint with the Steelers. Lowry saw a little action in the Steelers' pre-season, but did not touch the field in the regular season until last Sunday's win against the Chargers where the veteran assisted on one tackle.

"And so my advice to [Wilson] is to keep working and take that opportunity when that door is left ajar and to be ready when it is," said Tomlin.

Wilson was a limited participant in practice the last couple of weeks but was a full participant last Thursday and Friday. That wasn't enough for Wilson to make his debut against his former head coach at Michigan and now head coach of the Chargers Jim Harbaugh, but Wilson will work to make his debut against the Colts next week.

However, fellow wide receivers Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller had solid days against the Chargers — performances that could muddy the WR2 role that Wilson is hoping to fill.

"Just come here and practice hard and do what I gotta do one day at a time," said Wilson before the Chargers game.

Hopefully, Tomlin's advice motivates Wilson even more.

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