Mike Tomlin gives insight on who will, and won’t, be playing vs. the Cowboys Thursday

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to play their first preseason game of 2021 against the Dallas Cowboys in the annual Hall of Fame game. The game, which will be held in Canton, OH, will be one of four preseason games for the Steelers and Cowboys, but don’t expect to see many big name players suiting up for the black and gold.

In fact, you can bet on more players resting, compared to playing.

Tuesday Mike Tomlin met with the media to talk about the upcoming game, as well as the status of training camp. During the press conference Tomlin outlined several players who will not be participating in the upcoming game on Thursday night.

Of course, it was the veterans who were listed as players who would not be playing on Thursday, but Tomlin didn’t get into too many specifics. Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Heyward and Joe Haden were the only players specifically listed as not playing, but Tomlin said other decisions had yet to be made about veteran players.

There had been an ongoing curiosity how Tomlin and Matt Canada would deploy first round draft pick Najee Harris on Thursday night. Tomlin said Harris, as well as all young players, need to go through the process of preparing for games. Therefore, they will dress, and play, in all four preseason games. How much they play has not been decided yet.

Knowing what we know from training camp, the list of players who are unlikely to even dress would also include the following players:

OLB T.J. Watt
DE Stephon Tuitt
OT Zach Banner
OT Chuks Okorafor
OG Kevin Dotson
TE Eric Ebron

Other than those listed players, there is a chance you could see all available players dress vs. the Cowboys. How much a player like Minkah Fitzpatrick or Tyson Alualu play is anyone’s guess at this point.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare for the Cowboys on Thursday night.

To hear more about Mike Tomlin’s press conference, check the Mike Tomlin Recap podcast below, when it is ready:

To watch Tomlin’s full press conference, check the video below: