By G.Stryker:
Ben Roethlisberger gave all of Steeler Nation a scare last game, as he laid on the turf for 5 minutes. Fortunately he was catching his breath from the wind being knocked from his lungs. He still has that finger fracture that won’t fully heal until the game Week 14-16. It still won’t stop Ben from taking snaps, throwing passes, or quarterback sneaks.
Ryan Switzer and James Washington were limited this week, but both are not listed on the final injury report, so both should play.
Marcus Gilbert and Dan McCullers both missed practice today and have been ruled out, so they will not play this week.
I track and try to predict timelines for Steeler players returning to the field. This is a link to our current spreadsheet. It will update on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after the practice reports are issued, as well as Post-Game and Tuesday after Coach Tomlin's press conferences. Bookmark it to see how the health of the Steelers are shaping up each week.
I believe the inactive players will be:
- Mason Rudolph: Healthy Scratch/ 3rd QB
- Marcus Gilbert: Officially ruled out, so he will not play
- Dan McCullers: Officially ruled out, so he will not play
- Justin Hunter: Washington seems to have responded to his benching, so Hunter looks like the emergency receiver on the roster this year.
- Marcus Allen: All the safeties are healthy, so he should sit.
- Zach Banner: BJ Finney is the top interior backup, and Chukwuma Okorafor will be the extra tackle, and backup swing tackle, so Banner will not dress.
- Brian Allen: All of the cornerbacks are healthy, so Brian probably won’t play this week
After getting 6/7 correct last game, my predictions are 49/56 on the year.
