With the Steelers Week 11 Friday injury report in and no roster moves expected on Saturday once again this week, it is time to take our weekly stab at the likely week 11 inactives for Sunday. Injuries help narrow it down some along with the past gameday inactives, but there remains two questionable spots on the inactives with the uncertainty of defensive end Brett Keisel and the question of whether or not head coach Mike Tomlin will want to dress 7 or 8 linemen this week. Below are the eight players we expect to see on the Steelers inactive list released 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday afternoon against the Oakland Raiders.
QB Charlie Batch – This one is a no brainer as Byron Leftwich remains the #2 QB right now for the foreseeable future.
S Will Allen – He was a surprise inactive last week after he had a setback from the concussion sustained against the Bengals. He never practiced this week and is thus been ruled out. Keenan Lewis will get the helmet in his place to help on special teams.
DE Aaron Smith – Mike Tomlin deemed him another week closer. It is still looking like another month for him and his triceps.
T Chris Scott – The good news with Scott is he is probably getting some well needed reps here and there in practice. Every little bit helps. I sure hope he is the right or left tackle of the future or at the very least an upgrade over Tony Hills. Hopefully we can wait until next spring to find out.
WR Antonio Brown – Not enough hats to go around as Emmanuel Sanders gets more and more snaps on offense.
RB Jonathan Dwyer – Practice makes perfect. He has plenty of time to get ready for training camp and watch Georgia Tech play on Saturdays.
DE Brett Keisel – This is where it gets tricky. Keisel practiced this week, but is listed as questionable. He said in an interview this past week, he does not want to rush back too soon again with the hamstring. I have a feeling he is held out one more week on Sunday and try to return against Buffalo next week.
CB Crezdon Butler – This is the hardest space to fill. The Steelers normally only dress 7 lineman, but with Chris Kemoeatu just getting back healthy combined with the tender ankle of Flozell Adams, I think Tomlin might consider dressing 8 instead. If he does dress only 7, then this spot will go to either Ramon Foster or Tony Hills and Butler could get a helmet again. Hills is the only true tackle left with experience, so odds are he dresses for sure. I think Butler and his sore quad sit this week.
