Steelers inactives vs Colts: Warren’s absence stings in a must-win game

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without a few sizable contributors this week. Can they upset the Indianapolis Colts without them? 

After falling to the Bengals in Week 11, there’s no doubt that Pittsburgh’s 2022 season is on the line tonight against the Indianapolis Colts. At 3-7, even if the Steelers were to win out at this point (which seems unlikely), they wouldn’t be guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Fortunately, Mike Tomlin’s team has been pretty healthy since the return of T.J. Watt. However, a few players suffered a bit more than just some bumps and bruises against Cincinnati last week and one of them has been ruled out of this pivotal Week 12 contest.

Meanwhile, the Colts don’t have any major injuries outside of edge defender, Kwitty Paye (who will miss tonight’s game with an ankle injury). All things considered, things are looking pretty encouraging for the Steelers on Monday Night Football:

Steelers inactives vs Colts Week 12

The Pittsburgh Steelers currently have far greater issues to deal with right now than the health of their players. However, in what promises to be a slugfest between two struggling offenses, they really could use all hands on deck. Here are their inactives against the Colts tonight:

• RB Jaylen Warren
• LB Robert Spillane
• CB Ahkello Witherspoon
• WR Miles Boykin
• QB Mason Rudolph
• OG Kendrick Green
• CB Josh Jackson

The Steelers will be suiting up without running back Jaylen Warren tonight after he suffered a hamstring injury early in the Bengals game. This loss could sting a little. Though Najee Harris has played well since the bye, he will face a tough matchup against the league’s fourth-best defense in terms of opponent yardage. Pittsburgh could really use a bit more burst and exposition against this defense tonight, and whether or not Tomlin will trust another RB to help share the workload tonight.

In addition, Ahkello Witherspoon will miss his seventh game of the season due to a lingering hamstring injury that he first suffered all the way back in Week 3 against the Browns. Witherspoon was initially expected to be Pittsburgh’s top boundary cornerback this year.

Robert Spillane’s absence was a bit of a surprise as he wasn’t so much as listed on the Steelers injury report at any point this week. In his absence, rookie LB Mark Robinson may get his first shot to see the field this season.