The 2025 NFL season is soon approaching, and teams across the league including the Pittsburgh Steelers are beginning to ramp up to the season with the start of preseason play.
Preseason provides a great opportunity for the young players that have just joined the league to prove why they are in the league and on their respective teams. It also allows players who are seemingly on the fringe of NFL rosters to get themselves onto teams for the long term and solidify their futures.
On the other hand, it provides little value for those players with years of experience and NFL competiton to play in the preseason games. Teams typically want to avoid their star players receiving any sort of injury in the preseason, as the games do not count towards their record and could negatively impact the team once the wins and losses do start to count.
During a media availability, head coach Mike Tomlin spoke on keeping veterans off the field, and why he was planning on doing so.
"I've identified some guys that won't be playing in this game this week and it has nothing to do with injury," Tomlin said. "They need less runway to take off, to be quite honest with you, because of their experience and where they are in their careers. Oftentimes I preserve them through this process while providing more opportunity for those that need more preparation or more opportunity to display their talents and so forth."
The Steelers actually have quite a large group of players that they are holding out of the game, yet none of the names come as a surprise. The names are quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Jaylen Warren, wide receiver DK Metcalf, tight end Jonnu Smith, tight end Pat Freiermuth, left guard Isaac Seumalo, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, outside linebacker Nick Herbig, inside linebacker Patrick Queen, cornerback Darius Slay, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., defensive back Jalen Ramsey, safety DeShon Elliott, and kicker Chris Boswell.
If any were a surprise, it would probably be Darius Slay due to his newness with the team, but his extensive NFL experience should suffice.
