Which Steelers players should rest vs Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to face the Dallas Cowboys tonight in the Hall of Fame Game, but here are the players who should sit this one out. 

The wait is finally over. After a long seven months without football, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys will be the first teams to take the stage in preseason action for the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

Regardless of whether or not you are a fan of one of these two teams, you better believe that NFL fans everywhere will be tuning in after more than half a year without football. However, if you are expecting a hard-fought physical showdown between these two teams, you might not want to hold your breath.

Recently, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to move to a 17-game schedule. By doing this, the additional regular-season game will now take the place of one preseason contest. But because the Cowboys and Steelers still play one extra game, they need to be overly cautious to make sure they escape Canton without any major injuries.

According to Dallas Morning News reporter, Michael Gehlken, 16 players on the Cowboys won’t even be making the trip to Canton for the Hall of Fame Game. Some of the most notable names include Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Amari Cooper, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and newly signed safety Malik Hooker.

The Steelers are likely to follow suit. Though making the 2-hour trip northwest of Pittsburgh obviously isn’t an issue, the team will probably be resting a handful of notable players.

Who should the Steelers rest vs Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game?

Yesterday, it was reported that Ben Roethlisberger would be sitting out the Hall of Fame Game. But which other players should be watching from the sidelines?

In addition to Big Ben sitting this one out, T.J. Watt and Stephon Tuitt won’t be playing in his contest, as either has yet to practice with the team. Watt, of course, is on the cusp of a new contract and president Art Rooney II said that he hopes to get something done before the start of the season.

In addition to these three players, veteran leaders like Joe Haden and Cameron Heyward don’t have to prove themselves in this game, while Minkah Fitzpatrick is too valuable to potentially lose to an injury in an exhibition game. The Steelers would also be wise to let Devin Bush sit this one out to avoid any potential setback after recovering from an ACL injury this offseason.

So far in training camp, the offense has really been struggling – particularly the offensive line. Other than Roethlisberger, I think every player on offense should be out there for the Hall of Fame Game. Unfortunately, the projected starting offensive line has yet to take a snap together in training camp and it doesn’t look like that will happen tonight, as Chukwuma Okorafor and Kevin Dotson have yet to practice with the team.

All that fans are really focusing on at this point is that football is back, and we are certainly excited for another season of Pittsburgh Steelers football. Let’s just hope we can escape this game without any major injuries.