Oct 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson (10) warms up before the game at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Costly Mistake May Mark End for Steelers' Roman Wilson

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 7:00 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers can never make anything easy. In the driver’s seat of their Week 9 contest against the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers had nothing left to do besides run the clock out on their fifth win of the season.

Yet, Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson decided to hurdle a defender while trying to reach the first down marker with less than four minutes to go in the game. The Colts smartly dislodged the ball from a leaping Wilson, giving Indianapolis another chance to bring the score even closer.

The Steelers may have won the game, but that mistake may have cost Wilson a chance to contribute for the rest of the season and possibly ever.

Vote of Confidence Backfires

Coming out of Week 8, Wilson was in line for more snaps and a larger role. He received a vote of confidence from starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and with the team on the hunt for more offensive depth, Wilson seemed like a likely in-house solution.

That vote of confidence from his teammates and franchise clearly backfired. In his follow up game, Wilson hauled in a single reception for four yards and a costly fumble. His season totals now sit at eight receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown.

This was supposed to be the week that Wilson stepped up and became a receiving option on the same level of Calvin Austin III, giving the team another secondary receiver behind DK Metcalf. Instead, it was another display of how the second-year pass-catcher hasn’t fully earned the trust of the coaching staff and the rest of the offense.

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WR2 Hunt Continues

Which is why the Steelers are going to be pounding the telephones over the final hours before the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline. The team has given Wilson a shot, and it’s resulted in the offense stagnating.

Now, the Steelers can’t let more opportunities slide past Wilson. The team is now 5-3 and has re-taken control of the AFC North division. The team has several holes in their lineup, but the hole at wide receiver is the most gaping.

Expect Steelers general manager Omar Khan to keep pulling strings and turning over options between now and the deadline. While the organization would have preferred for their sophomore receiver to step up, it’s clear that won’t happen in 2025. Even worse, it’s entirely possible that the Wilson experiment in Pittsburgh has officially come to an end.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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