Najee Harris is often listed as a non-participant on Wednesdays, with the Steelers listing him as a resting player.
But that is not the case to start the preparation for Week 7, as Harris did not practice on Wednesday with a ribs issue.
Harris was on the field for 46 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps in Sunday’s win over the Raiders. He took 14 carries for 106 yards with a touchdown and caught two passes for 16 yards.
Linebacker Alex Highsmith (groin) was a limited participant, which is a positive sign. He has not played since the Week 3 victory over the Chargers.
Safety Damontae Kazee (ankle), linebacker Nick Herbig (hamstring), center Zach Frazier (ankle), and running back Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) did not practice.
Tight end MyCole Pruitt (knee) was full.
Linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, and guard Isaac Seumalo all did not practice as resting players.
Jets wide receiver Mike Williams is the odd man out after the arrival of Davante Adams, and if that wasn’t obvious before, it became very clear when Williams didn’t practice today.
The Jets listed Williams as not practicing on their daily injury report, and the reason given was “Not Injury Related - Personal.”
Whether Williams asked out or the Jets told him to take the day off we don’t know, but the Jets have begun shopping him and his days with the team appear to be numbered.
It’s unclear whether the Jets will be able to get anything for Williams in a trade, given that he has just 10 catches for 145 yards through six games this season. But Aaron Rodgers threw Williams under the bus after a late interception on Monday night, and now Williams appears to be gone.
It appears Russell Wilson is on track to start the Steelers’ matchup with the Jets on Sunday night.
Via Brooke Pryor of ESPN, offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. let the cat out of the bag and noted that Wilson took reps with the first-team offense during Wednesday’s practice.
“He’s been out there the past few weeks, so it’s good getting him in first-team reps,” Moore said.
Pryor also noted that Wilson was the first QB up during individual drills, with Justin Fields and Kyle Allen going after him.
But head coach Mike Tomlin declined to reveal who his starter will be as he spoke to the media on Wednesday.
“Any decisions made at this point are in-house,” Tomlin said.
He also declined to go into who was taking the first-team reps between Wilson and Fields.
“I’m not going to get into the details of how we distribute the reps and things of that nature,” Tomlin said. “It doesn’t benefit us. Both guys were full participants today and I liked it. I liked their participation.”
Notably, Wilson was not listed on Pittsburgh’s first injury report of the week. He was active as the backup to Fields in Week 6.
With all of that, the wind is certainly blowing toward Wilson making his first start for the Steelers this weekend — even if Tomlin does not way to say so quite yet.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers got more than a reunion with an old teammate when the team traded for wide receiver Davante Adams on Tuesday.
Rodgers also got a roommate. Adams is living with Rodgers as he gets his Jets tenure started and the quarterback said at a Wednesday press conference that it has been “really fun” to see his friend.
Rodgers said he’s been looking at old film of Adams and that the wideout looks like “drank the elixir from the fountain of youth.” He also said he didn’t think it will take long for Adams to be up to full speed with the offense.
“It was a frustrating Monday night, but a really mellifluous moment, call, to hear his voice Monday night — Tuesday morning because it was almost one o’clock — and then got to see him on Tuesday, yesterday,” Rodgers said. “He’s staying with me for the short term, so went right into the signals and he was about 95 percent. And he knows the original to the second iteration to the third and on down. His knowledge of the game is pretty extensive.”
Expectations will be high for what Adams’s arrival will mean for the Jets offense and, at 2-4, there won’t be much patience for things to fall into place once they hit the field on Sunday.
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce vowed to keep his focus on football after wide receiver Davante Adams made a trade request a couple of weeks ago and his message hasn’t changed much in the wake of Tuesday’s trade that sent Adams to the Jets.
Pierce said, via multiple reporters, that it will be business as usual for the Raiders after the trade. Pierce noted that Adams did not play in the team’s last two games, so they are already familiar with heading into games without the wideout.
“Next man up. Move on,” Pierce said.
Jakobi Meyers also missed last Sunday’s game, but Pierce said the wideout will practice on Wednesday. Meyers, Tre Tucker, DJ Turner, and Tyreik McAllister are the receivers on the 53-man roster in Vegas.
