PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are in Paris, France, set to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. Their second international game in two years is a battle of two offensive-minded head coaches, and for Mike McCarthy, he'll have one of his top pieces available.

The Steelers announced their Week 7 inactives, which did not include running back Rico Dowdle. Dowdle came into the weekend listed as questionable with a knee injury after being limited in practice throughout the week.

It was his second lower-body injury of the season after missing three games with a dislocated toe earlier in the year.

The rest of their inactives include:

WR Ben Skowronek
QB Drew Allar
QB Will Howard
CB Brandin Echols
RB Eli Heidenreich
CB Terell Smith

Howard will serve as the emergency third quarterback, allowing him to dress for the game but not be allowed to be used unless Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are injured.

Echols (hamstring) and Skowronek (calf) were ruled out prior to the team's trip to Paris. They are the only injured players on the inactive list.

Dowdle is coming off his first game since Week 2, when the toe injury happened. He rushed seven times for 40 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, holding a 5.7 yards per carry average as he helped Pittsburgh earn their fourth victory of the season.

Dowdle will continue to work as the 1B option behind Jaylen Warren in the backfield. Travis Homer and Lew Nichols round out the group in Week 7 with Heidenreich being inactive.

Dowdle Not the Only Good News

The Steelers have also cleared safety DeShon Elliott to play against the Saints. This will be Elliott's first game of the 2026 season after being activated off of Injured Reserve just yesterday.

Elliott missed the end of the 2025 season with a lower-body injury. He returned during training camp and played in a preseason game but was placed back on IR to start the year because the team didn't feel he was fully ready to return.

After returning to practice nearly three weeks ago, Elliott is back in the lineup for his first game of the season. He'll join Jaquan Brisker and Roberts Spears-Jennings in the safety room, and will likely take back the starting role alongside Brisker.

Last year, when the Steelers played internationally in Dublin, Ireland, Elliott recorded six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception.

Pittsburgh will hope that magic returns againt the Saints.