Pittsburgh

Steelers

Mims is now looking for his fourth team in the last year after being let go by the Jaguars. The former second-round pick caught just one pass for seven yards this preseason and was buried on a depth chart that features several talented receivers. Still only 26 years old, this may not be the end of Mims’ career, but things aren’t looking good for a guy who hasn’t played a regular-season snap since 2022.

Fields came in after Russell Wilson played the first series of the game. He did take a few sacks and fumbled another snap, but he made some decent throws before giving way to Kyle Allen. Based on how Saturday went, it’d be a fairly large surprise if Wilson wasn’t the starter, but there likely will be a short leash.

Wilson only played the first series, and while his first completion was for negative six yards to George Pickens, Wilson’s next throw was a beautiful 31-yarder down the sideline to Pickens that helped set up a touchdown. That was it for the 35-year-old signal-caller before he gave way to Justin Fields, and it appears that this quarterback battle is over. It would be a major upset if Wilson wasn’t under center for the opener against the Falcons.

Aiyuk was spotted at the team’s preseason matchup against the 49ers on Friday night, which has been viewed by some as an encouraging sign in the stalemate that has lasted throughout the offseason. Rapoport reports the two sides “re-engaged” in contract negotiations about a week ago and that the offer that’s currently on the table could be adjusted to help close the deal, but the 49ers have been unwilling to up their offer. He also says the Steelers continue to remain in play and that a trade between the two sides appears to hinge on whether or not the 49ers want to deal the star receiver. It goes without saying that an end to this holdout would be welcomed by fans and fantasy managers alike.

Wilson suffered an ankle injury at the start of camp and is still working his way back from the issue. He told reporters earlier today he plans to be back soon but didn’t give a specific timetable for his return. Van Jefferson has cemented himself as the second receiver in the Steelers’ offense and will see a full complement of snaps early in the year. His familiarity with Arthur Smith’s scheme makes him a good fit for the offense but isn’t enough to warrant consideration from fantasy managers.

Tomlin conceded Warren would sit this week after hurting his hamstring last week against the Bills, but otherwise downplayed the injury. Warren is reportedly out multiple weeks and has a chance to suit up for the Steelers’ season opener against the Falcons. It wouldn’t be a shock, however, is the team rests Warren until he’s fully healthy. Warren’s absence would give Najee Harris a big workload in what should be a run-heavy Steelers offense.

Warren exited the Steelers’ preseason contest against the Bills and did not return to the field. While he’s expected to miss multiple weeks, it’s not a lock that his absence will stretch into Week 1 — although it is possible. His absence will likely spell a heavy workload for Najee Harris. It could also open up more playing time for Cordarrelle Patterson, who joined former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh earlier this offseason. We’ll have more clarity on this situation as the regular season draws closer, but for now, it’s wait-and-see.

The report comes from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Herbig’s injury elevates second-round rookie Zach Frazier to the starting role. Among 39 Power Five centers with at least 800 offensive snaps last year, Frazier ranks top 12 in both pass protection (83.8 PFF pass-blocking grade) and run blocking (74.8 PFF run-blocking grade) per PFF.

Fields played two first-half drives and played out the entire second half. It was an up-and-down outing the former No. 11 overall pick. While the box score isn’t awful, we’d expect more from a player of Fields’ talent against backups and NFL hopefuls. Fields rolled out to his left to complete a nice 19-yard pass to Dez Fitzpatrick to convert a third and seven and also scrambled for a 20-yard gain. He couldn’t lead the Steelers to anything more than a single field goal, but that was more than Russell Wilson did on his five drives. It’s too early to say who has the inside edge in this quarterback competition, but another disappointing outing by Wilson in next week’s preseason matchup against the Lions could tilt the scales in Fields’ favor.

It was an ultra-conservative night for Wilson, who cooked to the tune of 4.7 YPA while playing on five drives. Wilson did not lead the Steelers on a scoring drive in any of his five attempts and took three sacks in the limited outing. It wasn’t a great preseason debut for Wilson, who is in the midst of a camp battle with Justin Fields to start Week 1 against the Falcons. This performance didn’t do much to help his case, but he’ll get another crack at it in the Steelers’ preseason finale against the Lions on Saturday.