Steelers vs. Buccaneers Takeaways: Message Sent to Cam Heyward

The Steelers might have a WR3 in Roman Wilson. It doesn't show during practice. Throughout training camp, Wilson didn't look like the wide receiver he's been in two preseason games, which leaves questions. Is he just capable of beating opponent's second-teams? Is he a "preseason start?" Or, is he just improving with each opportunity and starting to show his real abilities?

Wilson finished the game with two receptions for 72 yards and would've had another deep ball to match his 42-yard grab if Mason Rudolph didn't throw an interception. On the pass he did catch, he could've scored a touchdown if the ball wasn't underthrown.

There's still a full week left for Wilson to make his case for the team's WR3 role. It'll be interesting to see if he can carry the momentum into practice, or if we're talking about the Steelers needing to add another wideout again by the end of the week.

Kaleb Johnson Gets Rolling

Kaleb Johnson finally found his footing. It came with the third team offense, but it was there, and he looked impressive. He finished 11 rushes for 50 yards.

Johnson has looked scared during the preseason. In his first game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he couldn't get anything going, and seemed like everything was moving too fast for him. This game started the same way, with Johnson visibly lacking confidence in his runs. That was until the third quarter.

The Steelers need Johnson to break out this season. He can't just be their third running back if they want to control the ground game the way they planned coming into the summer. A lot of the offense's success will ride on Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell and Johnson, and they need all three to perform well.

No Beanie Bishop?

The Steelers are slowly making their cornerback plans known, and it seems as if it doesn't involve much of Beanie Bishop. The second-year undrafted free agent didn't start for the Steelers in their second preseason game, and didn't touch the field on defense until the second quarter.

Instead, the Steelers rolled with Brandin Echols as their starter with Jalen Ramsey on the sideline. Echols played most of the first half at the position, with Daryl Porter Jr. and James Pierre on the outside.

The Steelers benched Bishop last season for Cam Sutton and this offseason went out to get Echols and Ramsey. Maybe he's still in their plans, but unless his special teams ability takes him over the top, it certainly appears Pittsburgh has plans outside of Bishop at the nickelback position.

Skylar Thompson Has Impressed

The Steelers' third-string quarterback this season is most likely going to be Will Howard. But Skylar Thompson is proving he's an NFL QB, and there has to be a team somewhere that's already hoping he gets cut and ends up on their roster.

Playing two full quarterbacks, Thompson completed 10 of 15 passes for 113 yards. His best drive came when a 4th and 1 screen pass to tight end Connor Heyward barely resulted in a first down. So, he hurried everyone to the line and got the snap off, scrambling around and finding Kaleb Johnson for nine yards.

The drive ended with an interception that probably should've been caught by Lance McCutchen, but was intead popped up. But besides a very questionable play, Thompson looked good once again.

Thompson still probably doesn't make the Steelers roster over Will Howard, but it's going to be close. And if he has a third strong performance, he'll make a case for himself to stick around, most likely keeping Howard on Injured Reserve for his rookie season.

No Cam Heyward in Renegade

The Steelers may be sending a message. Maybe it's not this deep, but the team broke out Renegade for the first time, welcoming a new video that highlights the team's defenders. Each year, the video is different. This year, it doesn't include a very interesting name.

The Steelers video team, whether on purpose or not, did not include No. 97, Cam Heyward in their Renegade video. Keeanu Benton, T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, Joey Porter Jr., Patrick Queen, DeShon Elliott and others were all incldued. Even Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark made appearances from their performances against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the preseason opener.

Maybe this conspiracy theory is too far fetched. Or maybe there's some drama between the Steelers and Heyward, and no one knows how it's going to end, and instead of having to make a new video, they just kept him out of it.