Week 2 is almost here as the Steelers take on the Seattle Seahawks tomorrow at Heinz Field. The final injury report of the week was released on Friday and I will now take my weekly stab at the 7 man inactive list for this week. The official inactives will be released 90 minutes before kick-off and I will have those posted on site immediately after they are announced in the press box.
QB Dennis Dixon – It looks like Mike Tomlin likes to dress an extra special teams player with the new rule that allows 46 players to dress on Sunday. Last week 3rd string quarterback Dennis Dixon was inactive and there is no reason to think that will change this week or any time in the near future.
WR Jerricho Cotchery – Wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery was ruled out again for the second straight week with his hamstring injury and there is no reason to rush him along right now. Cotchery looked like he would be a solid free agent depth pick-up, but has only seen limited practice time since being signed as he injured the hamstring during his first preseason action against the Eagles. His main focus at this point should be getting healthy and getting back on the practice field. I have a feeling he could be on this list for several weeks though baring an injury to another wide receiver.
RB Jonathan Dwyer – The inactive list is the home away from home for Dwyer and he will remain on this list baring an injury as the Steelers usually only dress three running backs every week. Hopefully he is not loosing focus as he needs to be ready every week. Just not enough game-day helmets to go around for the second year running back.
T Jamon Meredith – The Steelers signed Meredith to the active roster on Tuesday when Willie Colon was placed on injured reserve with his triceps injury. Meredith played under offensive line coach Sean Kugler at Buffalo, but he will almost certainly be inactive on Sunday as Ramon Foster is now likely to dress with Colon out for the season.
G/T Chris Scott – Scott and Foster were both inactive last week and as I mentioned above, Foster likely now will be the 7th lineman to dress on Sundays after the loss of Colon. Scott will likely remain on this list for some time after his rough showing on the right side during preseason. He just is not ready yet.
LB Chris Carter – The last few inactive spots are tricky to guess this week as rookie Chris Carter is now back healthy and left cornerback Bryant McFadden is not. Throw in the fact that Tomlin chose to dress rookie cornerback Cortez Allen over fellow rookie cornerback Curtis Brown last week and you can see that these two spots on the inactive list are mere guesses. I think Tomlin will choose to dress both of the rookie corners this week as I think there is a good shot that McFadden might be miss this game to rest his hamstring. Regardless if McFadden is down or not, I still think there is a good chance Carter is down either way.
CB Bryant McFadden – as I mentioned above, McFadden is battling his hamstring once again and Keenan Lewis took quite a few snaps this week in practice. McFadden missed all of preseason with the injury which seems to have resurfaced. My best guess is that they will sit him this week and dress both Allen and Brown this week in his absence. Should McFadden be active, it is a coin flip as to who sits between the rookie corners. My guess would be Brown again with his tender ankle.
