The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their first preseason game of the summer on Saturday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Big name starters such as quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver D.K. Metcalf cornerback Jalen Ramsey won’t suit up for the initial exhibition contest, but there will still be plenty of storylines to look out for.
Among them will be who takes advantage of the opportunity to earn spots in the team’s wide receiver room.
With a pair of Pro Bowl honors and a four-year, $132 million contract, Metcalf is the obvious No. 1 wideout. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor wrote on Friday that the Steelers “might even have a solidified No. 2” with Calvin Austin III.
From there, Pryor explains, there’s a “hodgepodge of receivers vying for a limited number of spots, and Saturday could be an opportunity to gain some separation from the pack.”
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“This season, Metcalf and Austin are locks, and (Ben) Skowronek and (Scotty) Miller also appear to have clinched jobs. That leaves maybe one or two jobs up for grabs that could go to (Roman) Wilson, playing in his first full camp and preseason after sustaining a series of injuries that kept him out most of last season, veteran Robert Woods, Brandon Johnson or Roc Taylor,” she wrote. “Though he was slow to get going early in camp, Wilson has developed a rapport with Rodgers lately, and Taylor made several key catches in Thursday’s practice, including one in a two-minute drill that set up a touchdown on the next play.”
The Steelers and Jaguars are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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