The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to face the Atlanta Falcons Thursday night in Georgia, and ahead of the game Mike Tomlin addressed the media to talk about everything from player injuries to how much the starters are expected to play in this final tune up before the regular season.

As far as injuries go, the Steelers recently waived two players injured due to injury, and made roster moves to fill out the 90-man roster. With players dealing with injuries now off the roster, it made the injury outlook much clearer for the black-and-gold. The players who are dealing with injury who Tomlin said he would “leave the light on for” are as follows:

• DB Tre Norwood
• DL Larry Ogunjobi
• OG Nate Herbig

Other than that, Tomlin said those who are healthy will play.

But before fans take to the comment section to show their disgust for Tomlin’s decision to play starters who might not need it, the Steelers coach did clarify his message later in the press conference. In fact, he said there will be an agenda for both individuals and groups in the Week 3 preseason game. Once those agenda items have been met, they will be removed from the game. These agendas aren’t just for the starters, but also the second and third team players as well.

Tomlin went on to say there is no guarantee everyone plays in this game, suggesting there is a chance he keeps some veterans out of the game if he feels he wants to see more of the players who are behind them on the depth chart.

With the Steelers doing some game planning this week ahead of the Falcons game, it should be expected the team will play the majority, if not all, of their starters Thursday night. The question is how much they will play. Tomlin reiterated once those units meet the coaches’ level of satisfaction with their specific plan, they’ll be removed from the game.

For more on Tomlin’s press conference, check out the Mike Tomlin Press Conference Recap podcast in the player below. Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the preseason finale Thursday evening.