I have been spot on with these as of late and feel pretty sure of the first 7 of 8 on this weeks guess list. Aaron Smith, Heath Miller and Steve McLendon are out, so they are slam dunks. Rookies Chris Scott, Crezdon Butler and Jonathan Dwyer are near locks. Charlie Batch has been the #3 QB for some time. That leaves the 8th spot. Does Tomlin dress and extra tackle in Tony Hills with Flozell Adams being dinged up and Matt Spaeth returning from a concussion? Also the Steelers are minus a tight end in Miller. My 8th choice will not be popular with Steeler Nation. I just do not think there will be two bones for two dogs this week as Mike Tomlin likes to say. Below are the eight players we expect to see on the Steelers inactive list released 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals.
QB Charlie Batch – No change here is expected and Charlie remains the emergency 3rd quarterback on Sundays.
DE Aaron Smith – MRI showed he is healing schedule and has reportedly started lifting weights again. I would not expect to see him active until the playoffs.
DT Steve McLendon – He was ruled out on the injury report after suffering a stinger during practice. He was likely headed to be inactive anyways with Brett Keisel back healthy. He also should be considered the 53rd man on the roster right now.
TE Heath Miller – He is forced to sit this week due to the concussion he suffered against the Ravens. Hopefully he only misses just this week.
T Chris Scott – Nothing looks to change with the status of the rookie lineman from Tennessee this week.
RB Jonathan Dwyer – Another week, another view from the sideline is likely on tap for Dwyer.
CB Crezdon Butler – Although not a slam dunk, it seems almost certain Butler will once again be down this week.
WR Antonio Brown – The last spot is so hard to guess due to the Miller injury and coupled with Flozell Adams and Matt Spaeth returning from being dinged up. I suspect Tomlin will want to dress an extra tackle just in case in the form of Tony Hills. If indeed Hills is active, this last spot would likely go to Brown or Keenan Lewis in my opinion. Lewis has contributed more on special teams so I think he will be up. I will go against popular belief and early reports that say Brown will be active this week. Probably wrong here, but we shall see. It could very easily be Hills just the same. Tough choice here.
