The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon at home, and if you’re like me, you’re counting down the hours until the Week 13 game begins. As usual, I will attempt to project the Steelers’ inactives for every game of the 2021 season, and below is my best guess as to which players won’t be given helmets on Sunday afternoon against the Ravens.
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. Also, the new roster rules make this exercise even harder as teams can elevate up to two players from their practice squads to their active roster for gamedays. Teams also can dress up to 48 players for games if eight offensive linemen are dressed.
QB Dwayne Haskins – Three weeks ago, Haskins dressed for the first time this season and that was due to starring quarterback Ben Roethlisberger being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list that week. Roethlisberger was back for the Week 12 Sunday night game and remains healthy heading into Week 13, which is the same for backup quarterback Mason Rudolph. Haskins has been back on the inactive list since Roethlisberger returned and he’ll likely remain there on gamedays moving forward for the remainder of the season.
CB Joe Haden – The Steelers listed Haden as out on the team’s injury report on Friday after he failed to practice all week and that now means he’ll miss a third consecutive game with a foot injury that he originally suffered in Week 10. With Haden now ruled out, backup cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon will likely once again dress in his place and serve as depth on Sunday against the Ravens. Haden being sidelined again could result in cornerback James Pierre starting against the Ravens at Heinz Field.
DT Isaiah Buggs – After being a healthy scratch inactive in Week 12, Buggs will once again be inactive on Sunday against the Ravens after being ruled out for that contest on the Friday injury report due to an ankle injury that cropped up on Thursday. There was a good chance that Buggs would’ve been inactive on Sunday even if healthy. With Buggs now out for Sunday, newcomer defensive tackle Montravius Adams is sure to dress and against the Ravens and potentially even start.
TE Kevin Rader – In Week 12, the Steelers chose to dress running back Anthony McFarland Jr. for the first time in several games and in doing so it made Rader the odd man out as the team wanted all four running backs and their fullback Derek Watt in helmets. There’s no reason to think that the Steelers won’t do that same thing on Sunday against the Ravens so look for Rader to be a healthy scratch 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
DT Henry Mondeaux – The Steelers activated defensive tackle Carlos Davis from the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday and that means he’s likely to dress and play on Sunday against the Ravens. If Davis and Adams both dress along with defensive linemen Cameron Heyward (illness), Isaiahh Loudermilk (illness) and Chris Wormley, that potentially leave Mondeaux as the odd man out if the team chooses to only dress five defensive linemen in total. Heyward and Loudermilk both failed to practice on Friday but neither received a game status designation on the injury report. Neither were downgraded on Saturday as well.
