The Steelers go into today's game against the Cincinnati Bengals without safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for the fourth straight week. Fitzpatrick has been dealing with a hamstring injury and was ruled out on Friday.
In addition, defensive tackle Montravius Adams will miss another game, also ruled out on Friday and inactive today.
With Fitzpatrick out, as well as safety Keanu Neal on the Reserve/Injured List, first-year player Trenton Thompson was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad earlier this week after responding well when he was elevated for the games against the Browns and Packers.
"It says a lot about the young guy's preparation and being ready for his moment," said defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. "Some guys, they're not ready for their moment and it comes, and they go in there and they lay an egg.
"He was ready for his moment. I thought he performed well. He did a lot of really good things.
"And now, the big thing is can he continue to build on that and continue to accelerate his development and prepare."
Another player who stepped up last week was veteran linebacker Mykal Walker. While Walker has only been with the Steelers for less than a month his experience is a huge plus.
Walker was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons (2020-22) with the Falcons, playing in 49 games, with 20 starts.
"Mykal has played a lot of football," said Austin. "He has played a lot more football than Trent, and so we expected a solid NFL type game out of Mykal, and that's what we got.
"He's been here. He's sharp. He's a really sharp guy. There were a lot of things, a lot of times in this league there are a lot of similarities, and so really the things that hold guys back are getting into the terminology that's familiar to them, and he's done a great job.
"He's a really bright guy and so he'll continue to get better the more reps he gets."
On Saturday the team elevated linebacker Tariq Carpenter from the practice squad to the Active/Inactive Roster for today's game. Carpenter was also elevated for the Packers and Browns games.
The full list of inactives includes Fitzpatrick, Adams, newly signed linebacker Blake Martinez, running back Anthony McFarland Jr., offensive lineman Dylan Cook and third quarterback Mason Rudolph.
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Steelers Inactives
No. 2 QB Mason Rudolph (3rd QB)
No. 26 RB Anthony McFarland Jr.
No. 39 S Minkah Fitzpatrick
No. 40 ILB Blake Martinez
No. 57 DT Montravius Adams
No. 60 T Dylan Cook
Bengals Inactives
No. 5 WR Tee Higgins
No. 25 RB Chris Evans
No. 29 CB Cam Taylor-Britt
No. 63 C Trey Hill
No. 70 OT D'Ante Smith
No. 97 NT Jay Tufele
