The Steelers head into Paris with one of their key backfield pieces ready to roll.
Rico Dowdle is active for Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints after entering the weekend questionable with a knee injury. He had been limited in practice all week, but Pittsburgh left him off its inactives list.
That matters because Dowdle is already working through a second lower-body issue this season. Earlier in the year, he missed three games after dislocating his toe.
Pittsburgh’s inactive list also includes Ben Skowronek, Drew Allar, Will Howard, Brandin Echols, Eli Heidenreich and Terell Smith. Howard is dressed as the emergency third quarterback, which means he can only enter if Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are both hurt.
Echols and Skowronek were ruled out before the trip to Paris because of hamstring and calf injuries, respectively. They are the only players listed as injured among the inactives.
Dowdle is coming off his first action since Week 2, when the toe injury first struck. In Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he handled seven carries for 40 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per rush as Pittsburgh picked up its fourth win of the season.
He remains the 1B option behind Jaylen Warren, with Travis Homer and Lew Nichols also in the backfield mix and Heidenreich inactive for Week 7.
The Steelers also have DeShon Elliott back in the fold. The safety has been cleared to play against the Saints after being activated from Injured Reserve on Saturday, and this will be his first game of the 2026 season.
Elliott missed the end of the 2025 season with a lower-body injury. He returned in training camp, appeared in a preseason game, but started the year on IR because the team did not believe he was fully ready.
After getting back to practice almost three weeks ago, Elliott is finally set to make his season debut. He joins Jaquan Brisker and Roberts Spears-Jennings in the safety room and is expected to reclaim his starting job next to Brisker.
He also brings some international-game history. In last year’s trip to Dublin, Ireland, Elliott posted six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception.
Now Pittsburgh will hope for a similar spark in Paris.
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