The Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly made wide receiver Roman Wilson a healthy scratch for the Week 14 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
A lot of media pundits have speculated as to why. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly talked through his own educated guesses on 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show on Monday.
“At the beginning of the year, they loved him,” Kaboly said, via Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle. “I mean, I’m talking about Week 1. ‘This is the guy.’ What they felt about him at the beginning of the season was like, ‘This guy’s gonna be a player.’
“I don’t know if that’s changed now or not.
“It almost looked like to me that they were trying to send him a message.”
Kaboly also added that perhaps Wilson didn’t dress because of some advantage the Steelers felt they were going to get with their other receivers versus the Ravens.
“Something’s weird,” Kaboly also said. “Somebody asked him to comment during the week and [the reporter] says, ‘What about receiver?’ And he goes, ‘Ask me next week.’
“Maybe he was already told he wasn’t gonna play this week for some sort of matchup reason.”
Aaron Rodgers Reveals Why Steelers Scratched Roman Wilson?
Regardless of anything said after Sunday’s game, pundits were going to speculate about Wilson’s absence. Week 14 was the first 2025 contest Wilson didn’t dress.
But quarterback Aaron Rodgers probably provided a little extra fuel for the Wilson speculation during his postgame press conference.
“It was our most crisp week of prep on the field. I think off the field, we’ve already been good. I thought the energy was good,” Rodgers said. “Not a big believer in coincidences. So, I’ve got to think that just Marquez [Valdes-Scantling] and Adam [Thielen] out there made a difference from a professionalism standpoint.
“Not saying those other guys don’t have professionalism. I love all of our other guys, but I just think there was an extra level of focus this week.”
Rodgers made it clear that his comment was not intended to be a shot at any other receiver. If it were, the most obvious choice would be Wilson, due to the fact he was the odd-man out Sunday.
Still, there was clearly something the Steelers felt Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen were going to give them over Wilson. Connecting the dots, it may have been a veteran presence for a key rivalry game.
Will Steelers Make Wilson Inactive Again vs. Miami Dolphins?
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin offered little else when asked about the decision behind Wilson being inactive for Sunday’s matchup in Baltimore.
“Exactly what you said, because of the veteran receivers,” Tomlin said to a reporters question on whether he preferred veteran wideouts over Wilson in Week 14.
Tomlin added he liked what he saw from Valdes-Scantling and Thielen. Tomlin indicated that both could play again next Monday night against the Miami Dolphins.
“I appreciate their efforts,” Tomlin said. “I think their experience showed, but certainly, with another week, it’s reasonable to expect it to be better.”
If Wilson is a healthy scratch again versus Miami, then clearly, he’s not out of the lineup only because of a matchup reason. Should that happen, it will be interesting to hear Tomlin’s explanation.
Wilson has largely been a disappointment with the Steelers. A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the 24-year-old wideout has 12 catches for 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 13 career NFL games. All of those statistics have come in 12 games this season.
Both of Wilson’s touchdowns happened in garbage time of lopsided losses this year. Wilson’s lone performance with more than 35 receiving yards came versus the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NFL Insider Stirs the Pot on Steelers Making WR Roman Wilson Inactive: ‘Something’s Weird’ appeared first on Heavy Sports.