Anthony McFarland inactive for Steelers in Week 14 against Buffalo

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released their inactives for their Week 14 game against the Buffalo Bills. There were two players ruled out due to injury prior to the game, but Robert Spillane was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday and is no longer on the active roster. Because the their was one player elevated from the practice squad, the list is made up of 6 players with one being due to injury and five as healthy scratches.

The biggest surprise on this list is rookie running back Anthony McFarland Jr. not getting a helmet against the Bills. McFarland was inactive several times early in the season but had not missed a game as a healthy scratch since the second week of the season. McFarland did miss the Steelers Week 10 matchup against the Bengals due to injury. On the season, McFarland has 91 rushing yards on 27 attempts with 45 receiving yards on five receptions. With James Conner returning to the lineup from the Reserve/COVID-19 List, the Steelers are going with the three running backs of Conner, Benny Snell Jr., and Jaylen Samuels.

As expected, Joe Haden will miss Week 14 with a concussion. Unable to practice all week, Haden is still in the NFL concussion protocol and will still need to come out of the protocol before returning to game action. Haden joins quarterback to Joshua Dobbs who is now in his 13th straight week of being inactive.

Two other players on the Steelers inactive list are tight end Kevin Rader and defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs. The Steelers have not dressed more than two tight ends this season, so Rader has been kept on the 53-man roster as insurance after the injury to Zach Gentry. As for the defensive line, the Steelers are already dressing an extra player than they typically do as they are carrying seven at the position. Therefore, Buggs was the odd man out in Week 14 after it was Carlos Davis the previous week.

The final player on the inactive list is offensive lineman Derwin Gray. The Steelers finally have their entire offensive line healthy, so Gray resumes his spot back on the inactive list for the second straight week.

As for the Bills’ inactives, they can be seen below.