The Pittsburgh Steelers play the visiting Cleveland Browns on Sunday and if you’re like me, you’re counting down the hours until the 1 PM/EST contest begins. As usual, I will project the Steelers’ inactives for every game of the 2025 season, and below is my best guess as to which players won’t be given helmets against the Browns at Acrisure Stadium.
Game inactives are announced 90 minutes before kickoff, so make sure you check back then to see the players for both teams who will be sitting the game out. Roster rules make this exercise even harder as teams can elevate up to two players from their practice squad to their active roster for gamedays. Also, teams can dress up to 48 players for games if eight offensive linemen are among them. The emergency quarterback rule remains in place for the 2025 season.
WR Calvin Austin III – Sunday will mark the first game missed this season for Austin, who was officially ruled out for the Week 6 home contest against the Browns on the team’s Friday injury report. Austin, who sustained a shoulder injury during the Steelers’ Week 4 game in Dublin, Ireland, failed to practice this past week, which really wasn’t all that surprising. Sunday will mark the first game that Austin has missed since his 2022 rookie season.
He enters Week 6 having caught 10 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 168 offensive snaps played. Austin has also been the team’s primary punt returner so far this season. With Austin sidelined this week, the Steelers signed WR Ke’Shawn Williams off their practice squad on Saturday. Williams will likely return punts for the Steelers against the Browns.
G/T Andrus Peat – Peat has not been active for a game this season and that is expected to carry over to the team’s Week 6 home game against the Browns. The Steelers signed Peat to a one-year contract during training camp, and he continues to serve as a depth piece along the offensive line. Peat did play some during the preseason for the Steelers at both left tackle and left guard.
For the first four regular-season games, the Steelers have dressed OT Calvin Anderson over Peat, and we should probably expect to see a repeat of that Sunday. The Steelers are expected to dress eight offensive linemen for Week 6. That list should once again include Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Isaac Seumalo, Mason McCormick, Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson, Ryan McCollum, and Calvin Anderson.
DL Esezi Otomewo – As has been the case with Peat, Otomewo has been a healthy scratch for all four regular-season games and that is also expected to continue against the Browns. The Steelers got rookie DT Derrick Harmon back from his knee injury in Week 3, and he has obviously dressed and played in every game since then. With Harmon back healthy, there’s really no reason for the team to consider dressing Otomewo against the Browns.
I look for the Steelers to once again dress six defensive linemen on Sunday, with second-year DT Logan Lee serving as the sixth in that position group and playing minimal snaps again. Unless injuries hit the Steelers’ defensive line group, we can probably expect to continue to see Otomewo as a weekly healthy scratch on the team’s inactive list.
OLB DeMarvin Leal – The Steelers are expected to get OLB Alex Highsmith back from his ankle injury against the Browns and assuming that’s the case, Leal is likely to be inactive for the Week 6 contest. Leal dressed and played in the Steelers’ last two games after being signed off their practice squad ahead of their Week 3 contest.
The Steelers really only need four outside linebackers on Sunday versus the Browns. With Leal essentially being the fifth one in that position group, it would make sense for him to be a healthy scratch and one of the team’s five inactive players in Week 6.
S Jabrill Peppers – CB Jalen Ramsey (hamstring) is expected to play Sunday against the Browns, especially since he was upgraded from questionable on the team’s injury report on Saturday morning. Assuming Ramsey does indeed dress for Sunday’s game, one of the other defensive backs on the team’s 53-man roster is likely to be on the list of five inactive players.
The Steelers are likely going to want to dress all of their cornerbacks on Sunday. If that’s indeed the case, that leaves a safety as a likely final member of the inactive list. The choice is likely between Peppers and S Chuck Clark. Clark seems to be the better special teams player of the two, so my guess is that he will dress and Peppers won’t.
