Predicting the Steelers’ inactive list for Week 6 vs. the Buccaneers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to overcome huge holes in the secondary as they face Tom Brady and the Tamp Bay Buccaneers. As the season rolls on, the true nature of the depth chart has come much more into focus. But for Week 6, the Steelers have more players out than what they need for the inactive list at this time. For this reason, there has to be multiple roster moves coming by 4 PM on Saturday.

The rules in the 2022 season when it comes to the players active on game day have been carried over from the last two seasons. As long as a team has eight offensive lineman who will be dressing for the game, they could have 48 players on their active roster rather than the 46 in previous seasons. If the Steelers elevate any players from their practice squad, their inactive list would increase by the same number of players. The Steelers will be elevating the maximum two players from the practice squad, and will likely have to make other roster moves as well. I’m not going to beat around the bush this week and select seven players.

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Game Status

OUT:

S Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee)
CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring)
CB Cam Sutton (hamstring)
CB Levi Wallace (concussion)
DT DeMarvin Leal (knee)
TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion)

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Here are the possibilities to end up inactive for the Steelers against the Buccaneers on Sunday:

Definitely:

CB Ahkello Witherspoon- It’s three games in a row now for Witherspoon. Was it really worth not putting him on IR?

S Minkah Fitzpatrick- This one had me extremely surprised. I fully expected Fitzpatrick to practice Friday and not have a status but instead he’s out.

CB Cam Sutton- Coach Tomlin inadvertently classified Sutton as out on Tuesday but then backtracked. It just wasn’t official until Friday.

CB Levi Wallace- This would have been another chance for Wallace to grab a spot where he doesn’t leave the field on defense. Maybe next week.

DT DeMarvin Leal- This one came out of nowhere on Friday. Leal was coming along well in his rookie season by showing his versatility. Hopefully it’s only a small setback.

TE Pat Freiermuth- It’s his third concussion with the Steelers in only 23 games. The concern here goes beyond football.

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Most Likely:

QB Mason Rudolph- The Steelers aren’t going to play their second quarterback unless they have to, so if they only have to have one healthy player inactive it should be the third one.

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Possibly:

G Kendrick Green- For all three players in this category, they only land on the list if one of the injured players goes on IR. But they have as much possibility of being released to make room for another defensive back as they do getting a helmet.

LB Mark Robinson- Unfortunately, everything I said for Green is true for the Steelers seventh-round rookie.

WR Gunner Olszewski- His roster spot is in danger when Calvin Austin returns. Needing more help on the defense, it’s unlikely that Steelers brings CA3 back for Sunday. But maybe they go ahead and drop the player who he would replace when the time comes just to add the player they need.

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Unlikely:

DT Isaiahh Loudermilk- He’s been inactive all season, but with Leal ruled out it’s time for the Milk-man.

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Projected Inactive List:

1. Minkah Fitzpatrick
2. Ahkello Witherspoon
3. Cam Sutton
4. Levi Wallace
5. DeMarvin Leal
6. Pat Freiermuth
7. Mason Rudolph

• (Kendrick Green)
• (Mark Robinson)

This list is about as cut and dry as it can be. The Steelers are going to bring up two players from the practice squad as elevations, the only question is if they also add players to the 53-man roster. The Steelers will have to release a player or put someone on the Reserve/Injured List. If any of the top six players on this list land on IR, the two names below are who I would expect to move up onto the list as long as they are still on the roster. This will become much more clear after 4 PM on Saturday.

UPDATE: The Steelers did elevate two players from the practice squad and placed DeMarvin Leal on IR.

The projected list is now as follows:

Projected Inactive List:

1. Minkah Fitzpatrick
2. Ahkello Witherspoon
3. Cam Sutton
4. Levi Wallace
5. Pat Freiermuth
6. Mason Rudolph
7. Kendrick Green

As always, feel free to list your projected inactives in the comments below.