Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — With Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf suspended for the next two games (pending on appeal) after an altercation with a fan during Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, head coach Mike Tomlin is looking forward to seeing second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson rise to the occasion.
Wilson has been a healthy scratch the last three games due to the emergence of veteran receivers Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
“One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” Tomlin said. “A guy like Roman Wilson, for example, who has been working extremely hard and growing throughout the course of this thing, but had his role reduced in recent weeks, man, I’m excited about what this opportunity might mean for him to display growth in the midst of time where he hadn’t been participating to show his professionalism, his readiness, and how he’s been sharpening his sword for battle in the ranks while he hasn’t been playing, for example.”
Tomlin addressed the Metcalf situation, but he’s focused on the players that will be on the field on Sunday.
“I think that’s always the lens in which I see it, whether it’s discipline in nature or injury-related, you can waste a lot of time pining for those that you don’t have,” Tomlin said. “As a leader, I think it’s my job to work and prepare those that I do have and position them to live out their dreams and be positive contributors to a winning effort.”
Tomlin explained a few weeks ago that Scotty Miller got a helmet over Wilson because of special teams.
“Scotty’s a capable backup punt return and I thought that was the difference,” Tomlin said.
Wilson has 12 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns this season, but hasn’t lived up to what the Steelers expected when it drafted him in the third round in 2024.
With Metcalf out, Wilson could take advantage of the opportunity and start to change the narrative on a slow start to his career.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Mike Tomlin Excited for Roman Wilson to Rise to the Occasion with DK Metcalf Suspended
