The Pittsburgh Steelers placed receiver Roman Wilson on injured reserve on Saturday, October 17, ruling him out for at least four games with the finger injury he suffered in last Sunday’s 34-22 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
The move confirms that a receiver group already missing Michael Pittman Jr. will be thin for a stretch that starts at Tampa Bay on Sunday and continues with the Steelers’ game against the New Orleans Saints in Paris a week later. Wilson had 14 catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns this season.
In the same set of moves, Pittsburgh promoted running back Lew Nichols III from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and called up receivers Brandon Johnson and Brandon Smith for the game against the Buccaneers. Both elevated receivers go back to the practice squad afterward.
We have made multiple roster moves. @BordasLaw
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 17, 2026
Why Nichols had to be signed
Nichols had already been elevated for the Week 3, 4 and 5 games. A practice-squad player can be called up only three times in a season before the club has to sign him to the active roster, so Pittsburgh’s decision to keep using him meant a contract. A seventh-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2023, he spent last season on the Steelers’ practice squad after a stop with the Philadelphia Eagles. At Central Michigan he led the country with 1,710 rushing yards in 2021.
Who catches the ball now
When Wilson went down against the Colts, Aaron Rodgers leaned on running back Jaylen Warren, who turned six catches into 87 yards including an 80-yard touchdown, and on rookie Germie Bernard, who caught six of his nine targets for 80 yards. Tight end Pat Freiermuth caught two touchdown passes in that game, but he was added to the injury report on Saturday with a calf problem and is questionable for Sunday. DK Metcalf was taken off the report after an illness and has no designation.
Johnson brings experience to the elevated pair: 26 catches for 335 yards and five touchdowns in 23 career games. Smith was also called up for the Colts game.
The club has not given a recovery timeline. The injury is another interruption for the 2024 third-round pick, whose rookie year was slowed by an ankle sprain in camp and a hamstring injury. Every move is listed on the transactions page.
What comes next
The 3-2 Steelers visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, October 18, at 1:00 p.m. EDT (Game Center), then face the New Orleans Saints in Paris on Sunday, October 25, at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
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