Nick Herbig Leads List of Steelers Inactives vs. Commanders
LANDOVER, Md. – The Pittsburgh Steelers have listed outside linebacker Nick Herbig (hamstring), offensive lineman Max Scharping (healthy scratch), wide receiver Scotty Miller (healthy scratch), cornerback C.J. Henderson (healthy scratch) and quarterback Kyle Allen (healthy scratch) as inactive for Sunday game against the Washington Commanders. Allen will serve as the No. 3 emergency quarterback
Herbig was ruled out for the Commanders game after missing practice on Friday, the club announced.
Herbig had been a limited participant on both Wednesday and Thursday before missing Friday’s session. It’s unclear if that represented a planned schedule or a setback for Herbig, who said earlier this week he was pushing to return against Washington.
Herbig has been out since suffering the hamstring injury on Oct. 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. In previous weeks, Jeremiah Moon, Ade Ogundeji and Eku Leota have helped replace Herbig while both he and Alex Highsmith were banged up.
The Steelers will be able to lean on just-acquired veteran Preston Smith, who came over at the trade deadline on Tuesday after being a starter for the Green Bay Packers. Smith and Moon will likely serve as the backups to Highsmith and T.J. Watt.
The Steelers got back five players for Sunday’s game in center Zach Frazier, linebacker Tyler Matakevich, running back Cordarrelle Patterson, quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver Ben Skowronek.
Frazier had been out since suffering an ankle injury in the Steelers’ 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 13. He was a full participant in practice all week.
Frazier was one of the best centers in the league prior to suffering the left ankle injury.
“Yeah, Ryan [McCollum] did a heck of a job stepping in there. Zach has been playing good football. I don’t even look at him as a rookie,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “He’s got such a good presence. We knew about him coming out of the draft how mature he was mentally. A guy that’s been off a couple of weeks, now you have to integrate back in. Zach’s been playing good football. We expect that to continue.”
Patterson had been out since suffering a serious ankle injury against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 29. Patterson, who is also the team’s primary kickoff returner, was a full participant in practice all week. Jonathan Ward replaced him as the team’s third running back and kickoff returner while Patterson was out.
The Steelers will have a favorable matchup in one area on Sunday, as the Washington Commanders rank fourth-worst in run defense at 143.0 yards allowed per game. They’ve been solid in pass defense, however, ranking fifth-best at 183.3 yards allowed per game.
Commanders starting right tackle Andrew Wylie (shoulder) is active, but he will only play in case of an emergency. He is not starting. Former Steelers offensive tackle Trent Scott will replace Wylie and have the task of blocking Steelers All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
Washington’s starting left tackle Cornelius Lucas (ankle) was previously ruled out. Rookie Brandon Coleman will start and be matched up against Alex Highsmith.The Commanders will also be without kicker Austin Seibert (hip). Zane Gonzalez, who was elevated, has not kicked in an NFL game since 2021.
Alan Saunders provided reporting for this story.
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