Week 1 Patriots vs Steelers inactives: Kyle Van Noy, Demaryius Thomas OUT; Matt LaCosse ACTIVE

In not even 90 minutes, the New England Patriots’ 2019 regular season will be kicked off with a primetime matchup against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers — a game that could already have some playoff implications if all is said and done. Before getting ahead of ourselves, however, let’s take a look at the players on both sides who have been declared inactive and will therefore not participate in tonight’s contest.

Patriots inactives

LB Kyle Van Noy

CB Joejuan Williams

SS Obi Melifonwu

WR Demaryius Thomas

RB Damien Harris

OL Korey Cunningham

DT Byron Cowart

The biggest name on the list of inactives is undoubtably Kyle Van Noy. The starting linebacker was not listed on the injury report this week but will not suit up today. While no official word has been said about his absence, his wife’s pregnancy might have something to do with it. Van Noy is joined on the list of inactives by four other healthy scratches: rookies Joejuan Williams, Damien Harris and Byron Cowart as well as depth offensive lineman Korey Cunningham.

The other two inactives, meanwhile, were both listed as ‘questionable’ on the final injury report of the week: Demaryius Thomas and Obi Melifonwu will miss tonight’s game. Tight end Matt LaCosse, on the other hand, will play tonight. He too was listed as ‘questionable’ because of an ankle injury suffered during the first week of preseason. Despite earlier reports, however, he will see the field — which in turn gives the Patriots two available tight ends.

Steelers inactives

QB Joshua Dobbs

S Sean Davis

CB Justin Layne

OG Fred Johnson

OL Chukwuma Okorafor

TE Zach Gentry

DE Isaiah Buggs

Pittsburgh’s list of inactives does not include any surprises: safety Sean Davis was listed as ‘doubtful’ on Friday’s injury report, while the rest of the men listed are little more than depth players at this point.

[UPDATE 9/8/2019, 7:13 pm ET] NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo confirmed that Kyle Van Noy will miss tonight’s game because his wife is indeed in labor.