The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into the sixth week of the 2024 regular season which will be their fourth road contest of the year. With five inactive lists down for the season, it should now be slightly easier to predict, but injuries are more the driving force. For Week 6, the Steelers have six players ruled out and one listed as questionable.

The rules in the 2024 season when it comes to the players active on game day have been carried over from the last four seasons with one additional caveat introduced last year. As long as a team has eight offensive linemen who will be dressing for the game, they could have 48 players on their active roster rather than the 46 in past years. If the Steelers elevate any players from their practice squad, their inactive list would increase by the same number of players. The one change since last season is one quarterback on the inactive list can be designated as the “third quarterback” and will be in uniform, but they can only enter if the other two quarterbacks are injured. The player must be on the 53-man roster and will be designated when the inactive list is released 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

Playing on Sunday, the Steelers have until 4 PM today to make any roster moves or practice squad elevations. If there is any significant roster move done later today, an update will be added.

Note: The original prediction was written before the moves that were made at 9 AM on Saturday. Some original content has been kept.

Game Status

OUT:

LB Alex Highsmith (groin)
LB Nick Herbig (hamstring)
DE DeMarvin Leal (neck)
TE MyCole Pruitt (ankle)
RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle)
S Damontae Kazee (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE:

RB Jaylen Warren (knee)

UPDATE: Jaylen Warren has been upgraded and is no longer questionable. Additionally, the Steelers placed DeMarvin Leal on the Reserve/Injured List (IR) and added LB Ade Ogundeji to the 53-man roster and promoted LB Eku Leota and RB Jonathan Ward from the practice squad.

Steelers make roster moves prior to the Week 6 game vs. the Raiders The Steelers are back on the road for Week 6 when they travel to play the Raiders, and they have made some roster moves prior to the game.https://t.co/pvfGzM8qho

— Steel Curtain Network (@SteelCNetwork) October 12, 2024

Here are the possibilities to end up inactive for the Steelers against the Raiders on Sunday:

Definitely:

OLB Alex Highsmith– It was a good sign that Highsmith was able to get on the practice field this week, but that’s merely about being able to play in Week 7.

LB Nick Herbig– It was a great opportunity to get a lot of playing time as a starter, but Herbig is yet another outside linebacker who isn’t available this week.

DE DeMarvin Leal– It seemed as if having Leal play outside linebacker would not have been a good scenario. Now it would have been great just to have him.

TE MyCole Pruitt– Add Pruitt to the list of players who did practice some this week so maybe he can return next week.

RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson– There hasn’t been much of an update about Patterson, so it’s unclear if his injury will last beyond this week.

S Damontae Kazee– It’s surprising that Kazee even played on Sunday after getting injured in pregame.

Most Likely:

G Max Scharping– The Steelers do not need a ninth offensive lineman. Unless the list is filled up with seven injuries, I expect Scharping to be inactive.

QB Kyle Allen– Demoted to the third quarterback this week, the Steelers might not need to put one on the inactive list if they simply don’t need the extra name with all the other injuries.

Possibly:

WR Roman Wilson– He hasn’t been active all season, and even though the numbers appear that Roman Wilson should get a helmet this week it still doesn’t mean that he will or that he will see the field.

Unlikely:

QB Russell Wilson– Coach Tomlin said he is now the backup. That would be a very strange move to then make Russell Wilson inactive.

RB Jaylen Warren– Getting his questionable status removed Saturday morning had Warren slide from possibly to unlikely.

Projected Inactive List:

1. Kyle Allen+
2. Alex Highsmith
3. Nick Herbig
4. MyCole Pruitt
5. Cordarrelle Patterson
6. Damontae Kazee
7. Max Scharping

+3rd quarterback and will dress

I already had everything figured out and written up for this prediction only for it to be thrown out the window when the Steelers announced their 4 PM roster moves very early at 9 AM on Saturday. But this makes things much more clear.

There are now only five injured players that will make up the inactive list with DeMarvin Leal going on IR. With the Steelers not promoting another wide receiver, it wouldn’t make sense to have Roman Wilson inactive again, so I have him getting his first helmet of the season. the Steelers don’t need to have the third quarterback active as he will be available in case of emergencies. While this had been Russell Wilson all season, this time it should be Kyle Allen.

The final inactive is another easy one as there is no need to have a ninth offensive lineman for the Steelers. Granted, in an emergency it might seem beneficial, but Steelers don’t really use their seventh or eighth offensive, So dressing number nine would be futile. This is why Max Scharping finishes the list.

As always, feel free to list your projected inactives in the comments below.