Steelers inactive list holds no surprises, including TE Ladarius Green

We are only minutes away from the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots going head-to-head in the AFC Championship game, and both teams have released their inactive lists for the big game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

For Pittsburgh, there were no surprises on the inactive list. Check out the complete list below:

QB Zach Mettenberger (healthy scratch)
OT Brian Mihalik (healthy scratch)
WR Demarcus Ayers (healthy scratch)
TE Ladarius Green (concussion)
DT Johnny Maxey (healthy scratch)
CB Al-Hajj Shabazz (healthy scratch)
LB L.J. Fort (healthy scratch)

If there is anything which even resembles a surprise on this list, it would be wide receiver Demarcus Ayers being inactive. Ayers has been steadily improving throughout the postseason, but it came down to numbers, and the team chose to insert Fitzgerald Toussaint rather than Ayers active, likely for special teams purposes.

Green has now been out of the lineup since suffering a concussion in the Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he did return to practice this week and was questionable heading into the AFC Championship game. This is a positive sign for the Steelers, if they beat the Patriots, Green could be available in Super Bowl 51.

Inactives for the Patriots are below:

The Steelers and Patriots will kickoff for a chance to go to Super Bowl 51 at 6:40 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest updates on injuries, scores and everything related to the black and gold.