Neither the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nor the Pittsburgh Steelers will be at full strength in the secondary when they square off on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
After ruling out safety Logan Ryan and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting on Friday, the Buccaneers have also included safety Mike Edwards among their Sunday inactives. Edwards had been considered questionable on the week-ending injury report and Head Coach Todd Bowles referred to him as a "game-day decision" on Friday. As it turned out, Edwards did not get cleared from his elbow injury, nor did wide receiver Julio Jones from his knee ailment. Jones was listed as doubtful on the injury report.
Edwards had played all but two of a possible 345 defensive snaps through the Buccaneers' first five games. Ryan, who had been playing roughly 70% of the defensive snaps before he was hurt early in Week Four, was filling the role of the second deep safety when Antoine Winfield Jr. shifted into the slot. Keanu Neal has taken over that role in Ryan's absence but the Buccaneers were down to just two safeties after the injuries to Ryan and Neal. On Saturday, the Bucs gave themselves some more options in the secondary by elevating safety Nolan Turner and cornerback Anthony Chesley from the practice squad.
Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks will miss a fourth straight game due to a foot injury. However, tight end Cameron Brate returns after a one-game absence due to a concussion and wide receiver Breshad Perriman is available again after missing the last two contests with knee and hamstring ailments.
The Buccaneers and Steelers submitted their list of inactives at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, 90 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of their Week Six matchup. The Buccaneers had elevated Chesley and Turner from the practice squad on Saturday, giving them a 55-man roster for the game. That means they had to name seven inactives in order to get down to the active game limit of 48. The Steelers elevated safety Elijah Riley and cornerback Quincy Williams from their practice squad and also had to name seven inactives.
The Steelers hard arguably a more difficult secondary situation to navigate than the Buccaneers. Starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick – perhaps the team's most impactful defender with edge rusher T.J. Watt currently on injured reserve – is inactive due to a knee injury. Additionally, cornerbacks Cameron Sutton (hamstring), Levi Wallace (concussion) and Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) have also been ruled out. Pittsburgh will also be without the services of tight end Pat Freiermuth, who is in the concussion protocol.
The Steelers' inactive information will be added shortly.
BUCCANEERS INACTIVES
- S Mike Edwards
- DL Akiem Hicks
- WR Julio Jones
- CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
- TE Kyle Rudolph
- S Logan Ryan
- QB Kyle Trask
Edwards, Hicks, Jones, Murphy-Bunting and Ryan are out due to injury.
STEELERS INACTIVES
- S Minkah Fitzpatrick
- G Kendrick Green
- TE Pat Freiermuth
- QB Mason Rudolph
- CB Cameron Sutton
- CB Levi Wallace
- CB Ahkello Witherspoon
Fitzpatrick, Freiermuth, Sutton, Wallace and Weatherspoon are out due to injury.
