5 things to watch as Steelers host Bills

For the seventh time over the past five-plus seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills meet for a game. The first four (one each from 2019-22) were regular-season contests — but Saturday’s matchup is the third between the teams over the past calendar year.

And while the middle of those contests had everything on the line (it was a playoff game), Saturday will be the second time in 366 days that they play with nothing at stake in regards to who wins and loses.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of storylines to follow when the preseason game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium.

1. The Russell renaissance

There’s always a little extra juice when a team’s next starting quarterback makes his game debut with a team — and that Russell Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowl honoree destined for serious Hall of Fame consideration only should heighten the anticipation for fans to view him in a black-and-gold No. 3 uniform.

The failures of Wilson’s past two seasons while with the Denver Broncos are well-documented. Yes, he’s 35 years old, hasn’t played at a Pro Bowl level since 2021 and is coming off getting benched last season. But in the limited action since ramping up to full practice after his calf injury, Wilson has looked every bit the part of a franchise QB in training camp. His throws have largely been crisp, the touch on his deep ball eye-catching, the respect he carries among his teammates palpable.

If anything can be learned from Kenny Pickett in 2023, how Wilson performs in preseason games won’t necessarily correlate to how he does come September. But that doesn’t mean Wilson won’t be watched closely, with his play analyzed thoroughly.

2. Up comes Frazier As recently as Wednesday — 16 practices into training camp, following 12 other summer team workouts — Nate Herbig was stubbornly holding on to first-team reps at center. And that wasn’t without merit, as the six-year veteran very much looked the part of a starter at Saint Vincent College. That rookie second-round pick Zach Frazier hadn’t yet ascended to the first team was less a reflection of any shortcomings in him than it was that Herbig gave coaches little reason to make a change.

Well, an undisclosed injury suffered late in the final camp practice made that change for them. Frazier finished Wednesday and spent of all of Thursday’s joint practice with the Bills as the center with the starting unit.

He’s expected to start Saturday. For as much as the organization has been enamored with Fraizer, if he plays well against Buffalo this could be the proverbial Wally Pipp situation. Frazier isn’t Lou Gehrig, but like Gehrig he might be good enough to not ever again cede a starting spot.

3. Magic Beanie

Another rookie from West Virginia for whom the Steelers have done little to hide their enthusiasm for, Beanie Bishop is in a similar spot as his former college teammate. The player one rung up the depth-chart ladder from him at nickel/slot DB suffered an injury Wednesday, elevating Bishop to run with the starters.

The situations aren’t identical, though. While Frazier was a second-round pick, Bishop went undrafted. And whereas Frazier had been with the second-team offense since the spring, Bishop almost instantaneously was part of the starting unit.

But while Bishop mostly handled duties with aplomb, his shakiest practices were last week. That probably contributed to coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to promote veteran Grayland Arnold to first-team nickel earlier this week. But on the same day Herbig left practice because of an injury, so did Arnold. And Arnold’s was significant enough that he landed on injured reserve. Bishop, therefore, gets a second shot to show his stuff while playing with the starters in a preseason game.

4. To the Moon and back

The abrupt retirement of Markus Golden last week turned what was one of the deepest position groups on the team into a spot with a hole to fill. After a highend trio of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig at outside linebacker, the competition for the No. 4 spot is intense.

Jeremiah Moon and Kyron Johnson are jockeying for position, and each has flashed at points during camp. At 6-foot-5, Moon (literally) stands out. He also played in nine games (with a start) for the Baltimore Ravens last season, including a forced fumble against the Steelers during the teams’ regular-season finale. Johnson shows quickness rushing from the edge, and he played in the final seven games of last season for the Steelers.

A big play Saturday by one or the other could help clinch a roster spot.

5. Brandon who?

It took 700 words before a Brandon Aiyuk reference. The Steelers might yet trade for the talented San Francisco 49ers receiver, but with each day that passes the likelihood marginally decreases. At very least, it gives more opportunity for the Steelers’ existing receiving corps (aside from George Pickens) to prove their worth.

To varying degrees, Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, Dez Fitzpatrick, Jaray Johnson, T.J Luther, Duece Watts and Jacob Copeland could use a big catch (or special- teams play) to win or solidify a role in the offense, spot on the team or employment on the practice squad.