It doesn’t appear the Pittsburgh Steelers will be banking on rookie Roman Wilson to be the next evelution of thier passing game, and will instead wait until next season to see if their third-round pick will make an impact.

The Steelers opened the return window for Wilson in Week 18, giving them 21 days to activate him off of Injured Reserve and back to the 53-man roster. He’ll be able to practice during that stretch, but has already been ruled out for Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Team insider and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo doesn’t see that return happening. Speaking on 93.7 The Fan, Fittipaldo shut down the idea that Wilsonw would come back and be a factor for the offense during the postseason, and instead will try to make an impact next season.

“People always ask me about Roman Wilson. Listen, Roman Wilson is not coming to the rescue,” Fittipaldo said. “The guys they have are the guys they have and they’re gonna have to make it work.”

It wasn’t expected that Wilson will return this season when he was placed on IR with a hamstring injury. After suffering an ankle sprain early in training camp, he didn’t get a hat in all but one game this season. Then, after suffering his second injury, it was believed his season was done.

That remains the expectation, and the Steelers are going to let their rookie develop and see what happens over the summer.

“I don’t care if you come from Michigan or if you come from Cal Pa., sometimes you need a redshirt year, and I think Roman Wilson is one of those guys,” Fittipaldo said. “Unless there’s an injury in the receiving corps, we’re not gonna see him this season.”

Wilson will likely get his next chance to earn a spot within the offense during OTAs and minicamp.