Steelers vs. Ravens: List of expected inactives for Week 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers play the Baltimore Ravens on the road on Saturday afternoon, the team’s 15th regular season game of 2024. If you’re like me, you’re counting down the hours until the game starts. I’m trying to project the Steelers’ inactives for each game of the 2024 season, and below is my best guess as to which players won’t get helmets on Saturday afternoon against the Ravens.

Inactive games will be officially announced 90 minutes before kick-off. So check back at this time to see the names of the players from both teams who will sit out the game. Roster rules make this exercise even more difficult, as teams can add up to two players from their practice squads to their active roster for game days. Teams can also dress up to 48 players for games if there are eight offensive linemen among them. The emergency quarterback rule continues to apply for the 2024 season.

QB Justin Fields — Fields was officially ruled out for Week 16 contests in Thursday’s injury report. An abdominal injury suffered during the team’s road game in Week 15 prevented Fields from practicing last week. Fields suffered the injury in the one snap he played last Sunday in Philadelphia and ultimately was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. This is the second time this season that Fields has been on the inactive list, as he was sidelined in Week 8 with a hamstring injury.

With Fields inactive, QB Kyle Allen will serve as QB Russell Wilson’s backup against the Ravens. Allen had been the team’s inactive emergency third quarterback since Week 10. Prior to Week 10, Allen was active for several games while Wilson recovered from his early-season calf injury. With Fields officially ruled out for Saturday’s game, it’s unlikely he can be listed as the team’s emergency quarterback against the Ravens.

WR George Pickens — The same hamstring injury that kept Pickens from playing in the team’s last two games will again keep him from playing against the Ravens. Pickens hasn’t trained on any days in the past week and has only limited himself to smaller side activities on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The team officially ruled Pickens out for Saturday’s game in its injury report on Thursday.

After undergoing an MRI scan of his injured hamstring nearly two weeks ago, there has since been speculation that Pickens would miss several games. He reportedly suffered a second-degree hamstring strain. There’s a chance he’ll also miss the Steelers’ Christmas game next week. With Pickens out against the Ravens, look for WR Scotty Miller to dress in his place like he has the last two games.

The five wide receivers expected to play against Baltimore are Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek, Mike Williams and Miller.

S DeShon Elliott — Like Pickens, Elliott will miss Saturday’s road game against the Ravens with a hamstring injury. Elliott did not practice on Tuesday or Wednesday but was listed as a limited participant on Thursday. He ended up as doubtful on the injury report on Thursday, and the team downgraded him to out on Friday. This is the second game Elliott has missed this season.

As was the case in Week 15, the Steelers will likely use CB Cameron Sutton and S Damontae Kazee to fill Elliott’s role since the safety is out due to his injury. The Steelers will certainly miss Elliott as he has played well so far this season. It’s too early to say whether Elliott will be able to play on Christmas Day next week. The fact that he took part in training at least to a limited extent on Thursday should be seen as a positive sign.

DT Dean Lowry – It’s likely the Steelers will get DT Larry Ogunjobi back from his groin injury against the Ravens. Ogunjobi, who ended up questionable on the team’s Week 16 injury report on Thursday, missed the Week 15 game with groin issues. Assuming Ogunjobi is indeed ready to play on Saturday, that could result in Lowry being inactive. The team did not upgrade or downgrade Ogunjobi’s status on Friday, so there is a small chance he will remain inactive on Saturday.

Lowry was inactive for three games, including the first two of the regular season. He was also inactive for the Week 13 home game. He played in several games this season due to injuries to other defensive players, including DT Montravius ​​Adams, who returned from his knee injury in Week 15.

CB Cory Trice Jr. – This last inactive player is once again a bit tricky as he could go in different directions. CB Donte Jackson was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Thursday due to a back injury. Because of this, there is a possibility that he will be inactive on Saturday. However, I expect Jackson to play against the Ravens. If this is indeed the case, there is a good chance that Trice will end up on the inactive list again.

Trice has yet to suit up for a game since coming off the reserve/injured list a few weeks ago. While the Steelers could have both Jackson and Trice active on Saturday, in that case it would be difficult to find a fifth inactive player. Consider that Trice has only played 28 defensive snaps this season and 19 more on special teams. He has missed nine games this season with a hamstring injury and has two more on the inactive list.