Second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson hasn’t played for the Pittsburgh Steelers the past two weeks. The Steelers have added veterans Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to their receiver room, which has limited opportunities for Wilson.
On Wednesday, the 24-year-old officially received his demotion. The latest team depth chart listed Wilson as a fourth-team wide receiver.
Wilson is now officially behind every other receiver on the Steelers depth chart.
Although a significant setback, Wilson told reporters he is trying to look at the demotion from a positive perspective.
“This is a good time for me to reflect on the rest of the season for me, and how I’ve been improving — and just keeping that same mindset,” Wilson said to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “Where every day is a good opportunity for me to build and grow and learn from guys like Adam [Thielen], MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling), DK [Metcalf], Aaron [Rodgers].
“It’s been tough, but I’m trying to look at it as a big blessing and another opportunity to grow.”
Wilson’s playing time has been limited even when dressed this season. Over the first 12 games of the season, he played 35% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps.
The past two weeks, Wilson has been a healthy scratch, left inactive on game days. Meanwhile, Thielen and Valdes-Scantling have averaged 28.25 offensive snaps each per game since December 7. On Monday against the Miami Dolphins, both veteran wideouts played at least 34 snaps on offense.
The Steelers are 2-0 with Thielen and Valdes-Scantling in the lineup.
Roman Wilson Demoted on Steelers Depth Chart
Although he only played one game as a rookie, there were high expectations for Wilson entering 2025. The Steelers added DK Metcalf but then traded George Pickens during the offseason. The team emphasized publicly that it was confident in its receiving corps because of youngsters such as Wilson and Calvin Austin III.
But Wilson has vastly underperformed from a statistical standpoint. He has just one game with more than 35 receiving yards in 12 contests this season. He also has two touchdown receptions, but both came in the fourth quarter of blowout results.
Overall, Wilson has 12 receptions for 166 receiving yards during 2025.
Thielen and Valdes-Scantling aren’t getting a ton of targets. But they are doing little things such as running rub routes or blocking downfield to help the Steelers offense.
Furthermore, against the Dolphins, Valdes-Scantling’s only target was a 19-yard touchdown catch.
Wilson Learning From Adam Thielen
Injuries can always change anything in an instant. But with only three regular season games left, it’s unlikely Wilson receives another opportunity to carve out a role in 2025. He will have to remain ready in case something changes, of course, but his primary focus can shift to developing for next year.
Thielen wasn’t added to the Steelers roster for this purpose. But he might be the perfect mentor for the former third-round pick.
“How he sees coverages, how he sees the way DBs play, what type of technique he uses to attack their techniques — really just watching him be a smart player,” Wilson said of what he’s learning from Thielen, via Batko. “He was one of those players that I looked up to when I was growing up.
“So it’s cool to have him in the locker room with me.”
Wilson concluded saying at some point when “we’ll look back” at this benching, “we’ll just laugh.”
Metcalf and Austin remained the first-team wideouts on the Steelers new depth chart. The team listed Thielen and Scotty Miller as the second-team receivers.
Valdes-Scantling and Ben Skowronek are the third-team wideouts with Wilson the lone receiver on the fourth-team.
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