The Pittsburgh Steelers already ruled out wide receiver Roman Wilson for Week 6 days ago. But the Steelers will be without the third-year wideout for at least four games.
On Saturday, the team announced multiple roster moves, including placing Wilson on injured reserve. The move will make Wilson unavailable until at least the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving.
To fill his roster spot, the Steelers also signed running back Lew Nichols from the practice squad to the active roster.
Wilson is in his third season with the Steelers since the team picked him in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Wilson spent almost his entire rookie campaign injured and then struggled to make an impact during 2025. But this season, Wilson has been a decent deep threat and WR3 for Pittsburgh.
In the first five games this season, Wilson had 14 catches and 188 receiving yards. Both of which are new career bests. He’s also scored two touchdowns.
Wilson exited last Sunday’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts with a finger injury. He didn’t return.
Nichols will spend his first game on Pittsburgh’s active roster Sunday against Tampa Bay. But he’s played the past three weeks as a practice squad elevation. He has registered six rushing yards on two carries.
Additionally, the Steelers announced their Week 6 practice squad elevations for Sunday. Pittsburgh promoted both wide receiver Brandon Johnson and Brandon Smith from the practice squad. Each wideout will revert back to the team’s practice squad after playing versus Tampa Bay on October 18.
Steelers Place Roman Wilson on IR
Pittsburgh’s move to place Wilson on IR isn’t super surprising. The team immediately ruled him out for Week 6 the day after his finger injury.
While Wilson avoided IR throughout the week, the Steelers placed fellow receiver Michael Pittman Jr. on injured reserve last Saturday as well. With the precedence, it isn’t at all shocking the Steelers waited until the day prior to their next game to make the move.
With the IR stint, Wilson will be out for more than a month. The Steelers will face the Buccaneers and then the New Orleans Saints along with the Cleveland Browns the next few weeks. Then, Pittsburgh will have its bye.
The IR stint must last four games, though, not four weeks. So Wilson will also miss the rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 15 in Week 10.
Pittman is also on IR and won’t be eligible to return until the Bengals matchup. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly reported Friday that Pittman’s injury “doesn’t sound good,” which seems to be a pretty strong indication that he won’t be ready by November 15.
If that’s the case, the Steelers are going to be without two of their top three receivers for the next month or longer.
In Week 6, they will try to survive with Johnson and Smith playing a role from the practice squad. The Steelers will also be without wideout Ben Skowronek, so Johnson and Smith each could play significant snaps.
D.K. Metcalf and Germie Bernard will start at wideout for Pittsburgh. But before Saturday, rookies Kaden Wetjen and Eli Heidenreich were the only other healthy receivers on the active roster. Heidenreich is really only half a receiver, as the team has him listed as a RB/WR.
Steelers Sign Lew Nichols to Active Roster
With Wilson heading to IR, the Steelers will have one short-term advantage. They will have three new healthy players added to their Week 6 game day roster.
The Steelers had already used Nichols’s maximum three practice squad elevations before Saturday. There’s also a limit of two practice squad elevations per week for each NFL team.
But with Wilson on IR, the Steelers added Nichols in another way — signing him to the active roster. Then, they also had the option of promoting two practice squad receivers.
Nichols has played in four games during his NFL career. In those contests, he’s lined up for 11 offensive snaps and 33 on special teams.
Steelers Give Bad Injury Update on WR Roman Wilson