The venue is different as is the opponent, but Mike Tomlin is treating the Pittsburgh Steelers’ second preseason game much like the first.
Tomlin said Tuesday he will rest most of his veteran players when the Steelers play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.
The same healthy 15 players who did not dress against Jacksonville likely won’t see the field against Tampa Bay. The same goes for eight players who didn’t suit up because of injury.
The list of healthy scratches will include quarterback Aaron Rodgers, left guard Isaac Seumalo, running back Jaylen Warren, wide receiver DK Metcalf, and tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith. On defense, those not playing will include defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, who is holding in during training camp, linebacker Patrick Queen, outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, and cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey and safety DeShon Elliott.
“We definitely want to play,” Elliott said. “But (shoot), he has a (plan) for us. He has everything lined up for us. We’re gonna do our job, and he’s gonna do his job.”
Added Queen: “I don’t care. If they tell me to play, I’ll play. If not, I’m definitely not trippin’.”
Tomlin did not mention kicker Chris Boswell, who also is holding in and not participating in practice because of a desire for a new contract.
One veteran who could play Saturday is outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who sat out the opener.
“We’ll make our decisions on a week-to-week basis based on development and performance,” Tomlin said. “As I have mentioned repeatedly in this process, different guys need different amounts of work to be ready and in an effort for us to evaluate their talent or what they are capable of.”
Players dealing with injuries before the Jacksonville game included Highsmith, Calvin Austin III, Will Howard, Ryan McCollum, Calvin Anderson, Donte Kent and Cory Trice Jr. McCollum, the team’s backup center, is a candidate to play against Tampa Bay.
“I don’t want to exclude anyone at this juncture,” Tomlin said. “One thing we definitively want to do is give guys an opportunity to participate in the game.”
With Mason Rudolph scheduled to start again this weekend, it increases the likelihood that Rodgers won’t play in the preseason.
“We’ll make decisions regarding next week, next week, based on totality of lot of things,” Tomlin said.
