Mike Tomlin expects all healthy Steelers to play in preseason finale

The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t have any plans to sit anyone for the preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. If guys are healthy, Mike Tomlin expects to play them.

Recently speaking with reporters, Tomlin said he plans to play everyone who can get on the field. It will be the team’s final test until the NFL‘s regular season gets underway.

“We’ll be wheels up here in a short number of days and, again, we expect to play everyone that’s available to us and particularly the starters,” Tomlin said, per the team’s YouTube page.

Some teams subscribe to the notion that the risk isn’t worth the reward during preseason football. It’s not common to see starters frequently throughout those three games.

And while starters may not get a ton of reps — we’ll see what happens Thursday — clearly Tomlin finds it beneficial for the Steelers to play as many as possible in the game.

Perhaps the extra reps will prove beneficial.

The Steelers play the Flacons at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night to close out the preseason. Coverage airs on NFL Network. Pittsburgh has won both of its preseason contests while Atlanta sits at 1-0-1.

Are Steelers a team to watch in 2023?

Pittsburgh endured a bit of a roller coaster season in 2022. It ended the year with a 9-8 record, missing out on the playoffs narrowly. College football and NFL analyst Kirk Herbstreit labeled the Steelers as one of the teams to watch for the upcoming year.

“I think the Steelers can be a sneaky team, kind of a forgotten team,” Herbstreit said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I just think that they’re just never used to being a team that going into the season? There’s so much focus, obviously, on the Bengals, (Joe) Burrow, even Lamar (Jackson), and for good reason with what the Ravens consistency has been. The Steelers have always been a team that’s always been a playoff contender.”

“I don’t know. Because of the way their offense has been as they’ve transitioned with a new OC, new quarterback? I just feel like people don’t talk much about them. That organization has too much pride.”

Herbstreit talked about the benefit of Pickett entering his second season with the Steelers, as well as some of the offensive weapons around him. And while he doesn’t necessarily believe the team will win the division, he does believe Pittsburgh could be dangerous.

“I’m not saying they’re going to win the North,” Herbstreit said. “I just think that they’ve got a team that could be a – it’s fun to look for those teams that could surprise. And I think the Steelers could be a team to look out for.”