The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in the middle of several storylines heading into their first preseason game against the Houston Texans this Friday at Acrisure Stadium. What might be the most interesting about some of these storylines are they have nothing to do with the upcoming game vs. the Texans.

When Mike Tomlin met with media Wednesday for his preseason press conference he was asked several questions about several topics pertaining to those aforementioned storylines. As always, Tomlin didn’t shy away from these topics, instead he gave some interesting answers as it pertains to things like quarterbacks, injuries, and, of course, wide receivers.

As it pertains to the quarterback position, Russell Wilson will not be participating in this game, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, and Just Fields will be getting the start for the Steelers. How much will he play? According to Tomlin, a “couple of series”.

“I’m probably going to give that ‘first unit,’ and him included in that, a couple of series. And I think he just comes to compete every day. He’s got an awesome competitive spirit. We’ve got a competitive environment, and it seems like he’s enjoying it. He’s doing a really good job of acclimating himself to it and his teammates and letting his talent show.”

There are players who have sustained injuries at some point this training camp, and veterans who are going to be given the night off based on the fact they don’t truly need the work at this stage of their careers.

For those who are dealing with injuries and won’t be suiting up Friday, they are:

QB Russell Wilson (calf)

OLB Alex Highsmith (groin)

ILB Patrick Queen (undisclosed)

The players who are getting a veterans day off are:

S Minkah Fitzpatrick

OLB T.J. Watt

DE Cam Heyward

OG Isaac Seumalo

As for wide receivers, of course Tomlin was asked about players who are both on, and not on, the team’s 90-man offseason roster. For those who have been at camp this entire time, Tomlin was glowing of his praise for those players.

“I just like the way that group has worked, getting to know particularly some of the new veteran guys in that group. Can’t say enough about Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller, for example. Guys that have shown really high floors in this process, and they’re really consistent in their performance, and they bring it every day. That’s kind of indicative of veteran players. I’ve been pleased with the growth in the work coming from that group.”

When pressed about trying to obtain a receiver from another team, mainly referring to the ongoing rumors surrounding the team acquiring San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, Tomlin’s response left plenty open for debate.

“I’ll let you guys speculate on that.”

There can be a lot of change going on with the Steelers this week, and some of that might not even pertain to the upcoming game. Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Houston Texans to invade Pittsburgh in Week 1 of the preseason.