The (6-5) Pittsburgh Steelers will host the (8-3) New York Giants on Sunday and that contest figures to be a great test for both teams. The Steelers Friday injury report showed that two players will miss the game against the Giants due to injuries and on Saturday a surprise addition to that list was quickly followed by a roster move. With all the Saturday housekeeping now out of the way, I will attempt to project the Steelers seven inactives for Sunday’s game against the Giants.
Game inactives are officially announced 90 minutes before kickoff, so make sure you check back at that time to see the names of the players for both teams who will be sitting the game out.
Zach Mettenberger – Mettenberger hasn’t dressed since the Steelers game against the New England Patriots and you can once again count on him being inactive Sunday against the Giants.
DeAngelo Williams – Even though head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Williams is “perking up,” the veteran running back still failed to practice this week. He was ultimately ruled out for Sunday’s game on the Friday injury report and this will make the fourth game in a row that he’s missed since undergoing a minor surgical procedure on one of his knees following the Week 9 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Darrius Heyward-Bey – On Tuesday, Tomlin indicated that Heyward-Bey is still week-to-week and as expected, the wide receiver failed to practice this past week which ultimately led to him being ruled out for Sunday’s game on the Friday injury report. Heyward-Bey hasn’t played since injuring his foot in the first half of the loss to the Ravens. At this point, you must really wonder if Heyward-Bey will be able to return to practice any time soon.
Brian Mihalik – Mihalik hasn’t dressed since Week 7 and he’s not likely to get a helmet Sunday against the Giants. In fact, barring any kind of injuries occurring on the Steelers offensive line, Mihalik isn’t likely to dress for another game anytime soon. For now, Chris Hubbard and B.J. Finney remain the Steelers backup linemen on gamedays.
Xavier Grimble – After missing the last two games with a quadricep injury, Grimble was finally healthy enough to practice all three days this past week and was ultimately removed from the team’s injury report on Friday. However, just because he’s healthy doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get a helmet on Sunday. With fellow tight end Ladarius Green now off Reserve/Injured and contributing, Grimble isn’t really needed and especially being as he’s not a big special team’s contributor. I have a feeling Grimble will be a healthy scratch against the Giants.
Daryl Richardson – Richardson has been inactive the last two games and thus there’s currently no reason to think that will change Sunday against the Giants and especially being as he’s not a huge contributor on special teams. Should, however, Richardson ultimately receive a helmet, it would likely result in one of the Steelers several backup linebackers being inactive.
Chris Boswell – Boswell was added to the Steelers injury report on Saturday as questionable with an abdomen injury and with his status for Sunday in doubt the team quickly signed veteran free agent kicker Randy Bullock. Keep in mind that there’s still a chance that Boswell will play Sunday against the Giants, but we aren’t likely to know for sure until 90 minutes before kickoff. I have no choice but to guess that Boswell will be inactive on Sunday.
