The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into the first round of the 2023 postseason. Getting the win and the help they needed last weekend, the Steelers head to Buffalo to face the Bills in what is looking to be another game greatly influenced by the weather.

The rules in the 2023 season when it comes to the players active on game day have been carried over from the last three seasons with one additional caveat. 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 this 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.

With the Steelers having until 4 PM Saturday to make any roster moves or practice squad elevations, the exact number for the list is subject to change. With players no longer restricted to three practice squad elevations as they can be unlimited in the postseason, the Steelers are likely to have two elevations from the practice squad unless they are moved to the 53-man roster. Because of these potential moves, they will ultimately determine the number of players who will be inactive.

Game Status

OUT:

OLB T.J. Watt (knee)

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

Definitely:

OLB T.J. Watt– It sucks the Steelers will be without their best player, but they have got to roll with what they have. At least he’s the only player with any injury status.

Most Likely:

OT Dylan Cook– It’s been so long since he was active, I don’t know if Dylan Cook knows what it’s like to have his pads on during game day anymore.

CB Darius Rush– With even more players returning to the Steelers secondary, the likelihood of Rush getting a helmet drops even lower.

QB Mitch Trubisky– There’s no question who the third quarterback is now.

LB Blake Martinez– Elandon Roberts doesn’t have an injury status for the game, so there’s no doubt Martinez will be inactive.

Possibly:

DL DeMarvin Leal– He’s been the guy who hasn’t got a helmet for several weeks in a row. While he could act as help on the edge with the Steelers being down a player, the weather conditions might swing the decision back the other direction.

DL Isaiahh Loudermilk– He only played three snaps on defense last week, so it’s not like the Steelers desperately need Loudermilk to be available.

S Elijah Riley– With two safeties coming back, Riley could be the odd man out. The biggest thing in his favor now is special teams.

CB James Pierre– With Patrick Peterson sliding back over the corner, everything that was said about Riley could also be said about Pierre.

S Damontae Kazee– The Steelers said they would keep an eye on Kazee’s conditioning. This likely wouldn’t show up on the injury report, but could keep him out of the game. The Steelers have to find one more inactive if they choose to elevate Eric Rowe which they should.

Unlikely:

OLB Kyron Johnson– Although he’s only been used on special teams outside of one snap, Johnson is now the emergency guy in case the Steelers deal with injury. I don’t see them trying to squeeze through with only three outside linebackers.

Projected Inactive List:

1. Mitch Trubisky (3rd QB)
2. T.J. Watt
3. Dylan Cook
4. Darius Rush
5. Blake Martinez
6. DeMarvin Leal*
7. Damontae Kazee*

This week was really tough again to find a seventh player. I’m assuming Myles Jack and Eric Rowe will be elevated from the practice squad again since there’s no restriction on how many times they can be brought up in the postseason. Both players have been playing well and deserve to be on the field.

The top five players on this list are given unless the Steelers make a roster move where one of them gets released. The only reason they would need to do this is if they needed to elevate more than two players from the practice squad which I don’t see happening (unless they went with Wing over Harvin at punter). Otherwise, the top five names are locks once again.

Each week I’m still not sure about saying which defensive lineman is going to be inactive as being a definite. Even with DeMarvin Leall being the guy more often than not lately, it does seem like it is matchup dependent and Isaiahh Loudermilk could get back in the mix. But this week I’m not sure based on the weather so I’m sticking with what the Steelers have done most of the time.

If both Jack and Rowe are elevated which means the Steelers need seven inactive players, just like last week I’m having a hard time finding the last player. Last week it ended up being Minkah Fitzpatrick. This week I don’t see that as being the case. Because it is so difficult, I’m going out of a limb and say the Steelers feel Damontae Kazee is not in better game shape than their other options. I hope this isn’t the case, but I don’t know where else to go so I might as well go with the most “outside the box” possibility. I feel like it’s got a come from the secondary because I don’t know from what other position group to squeeze the last player. Since Kazee is much more limited in his special team snaps than Riley or Pierre, I’m taking a shot. If I’m going to most likely get the pick wrong, I might as well pick what I don’t want to happen.

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