Panthers Make Lineup Announcement Before Steelers Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers may not be preparing for a dress rehearsal for Aaron Rodgers and the rest of their starters, but if they were, things may have been put to the side. The Carolina Panthers, who the Steelers will travel to play in their preseason finale, have announced that none of their starters will play - giving Pittsburgh a direct sign theirs likely won't either.

The Panthers played their starters in their first two preseason games, leaving them in for an extended amount of time in the opener against the Cleveland Browns. Against the Houston Texans, they were only on the field for a short stint, and now, head coach David Canales has announced that he will rest them against the Steelers.

"We have two really important practices before we go into Pittsburgh. The starters will not play this upcoming week. Those practices become so valuable because it’s the last time we have this whole group together and we’re able to get the intensities that we want going into the season," Canales said.

The Steelers haven't played their starters, or at least a majority of them, through the first two exhibition games. Aaron Rodgers likely wasn't seeing the field at any moment this preseason, but now, the team has no real reason to let others like DK Metcalf, Jaylen Warren, Pat Freiermuth or Jonnu Smith play on the offensive side.

On the defense, Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay, DeShon Elliott, Patrick Queen, Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig have all be sidelined. That will likely continue, with others such as Payton Wilson, Keeanu Benton, Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark potentially joining them as well.

Pittsburgh's starting offensive line has also played the first two games, but the team could decide to bench them as well. Isaac Seumalo hasn't played, but was not expected to as an older veteran.

Expect a lot of Skylar Thompson and Logan Woodside against the Panthers in Preseason Week 3. The good news, is that the Steelers have plenty of depth chart players looking to make the roster, and not having their first-team on the field opens the door for names like Roc Taylor, Ke'Shawn Williams and Lew Nichols to continue to impress.