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Several injured Steelers making their way back to the lineup this week…
We’re just under 90 minutes out from kickoff of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 17 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, and both teams have officially announced their gameday inactives.
Here’s a look at the Steelers inactives for Week 17’s showdown against the Chiefs.
Steelers inactives Week 17
- QB Justin Fields (Emergency 3rd QB)
- CB Joey Porter Jr. (knee)
- WR Ben Skowronek (hip)
- LB Preston Smith
- DE Dean Lowry
The Pittsburgh Steelers got some good news and bad news this week. As for the bad news, starting second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is set to miss his first career game in Week 17 after suffering a knee injury last week.
Happily, the team will see the return of several starters to the lineup in Week 17, including WR George Pickens (hamstring), DT Larry Ogunjobi (groin), S DeShon Elliott (hamstring) and CB Donte Jackson (back) — all four starters who have missed at least one game with their respective injuries.
The biggest surprises on the inactives list are the absences of DE Dean Lowry and LB Preston Smith. Smith was acquired just ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Smith has a sack with the Steelers this year, including 11 total tackles (2 TFL). Smith did play a season-low 13 snaps with Pittsburgh just last week.
Chiefs inactives Week 17
- OT D.J. Humphries (hamstring)
- DB Chamarri Conner (concussion)
- DT Chris Jones (calf)
- DE Joshua Uche
- OL CJ Hanson
- OT Ethan Driskell
- DE Malik Herring
Big news for the Steelers is the absence of 2x All-Pro DT Chris Jones. Jones did manage a limited practice on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s game, but ultimately, the Chiefs decided to hold him out, with the short turnaround likely a factor.
Also notable coming into this matchup was the questionable tag for starting RT Jawaan Taylor, limited with a knee injury throughout the week, though he’s officially active. Watt should be able to give him some fits in Week 17, especially if limited, already a player prone to penalities, tied for the sixth-most penalties in the league this year — one fewer than Joey Porter Jr., in fact.