PITTSBURGH — The Steelers’ running back depth took a potentially significant hit Monday night when neither James Conner nor Benny Snell Jr. finished Monday night’s win against the Dolphins.
That left just one healthy running back — Trey Edmunds, a practice squad player earlier this year — to finish the game. Though Tomlin confirmed Conner’s shoulder injury, which he called an AC injury Monday night, he didn’t have a concrete diagnosis for either of his running backs on Tuesday. Both are being further evaluated.
“It’s in the process of being evaluated right now as we speak, so I don’t have a lot of information,” Tomlin said of Conner’s injury. “One thing’s for sure, it’s going to limit him, surely at the early portions of the week.”
Like Conner, Snell (knee) will also be limited early in the week, at the very least, but Tomlin wasn’t ready to rule either out for Sunday’s game against the Colts. For a vet like Conner, Tomlin said, the missed practice time isn’t a huge deal. But for Snell, missing any practice will likely cause him to miss the game.
“James has played enough ball, started to get comfortable with him,” Tomlin said. [It] doesn’t require a complete week of work and effort for him to play like it does some younger players. So we’ll play it by ear. We’ll check his availability on a day-to-day basis and let that be our guide in terms of his availability …
“[Snell] is the type of guy that, if he gets limited — because of youth and inexperience — it may affect his availability. We’ll see where the week leads us with two running backs kind of being treated in some form or fashion.”
The injury to Conner came late in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s win after the third-year running back put together his first 100-yard game of the season.
“James did a good job,” quarterback Mason Rudolph said. “He’s playing up there at the top of the competition of running backs in this league. He’s a physical guy. He really provided us with a spark today.”
Although Snell’s and Conner’s availability are up in the air, the group will get a boost from the return of Jaylen Samuels after a two-game absence.
“Man, Jaylen Samuels’ availability is right on time,” Tomlin said.
Samuels, who had arthroscopic knee surgery less than a month ago, was given a clean bill of health for Monday night’s game, but he ultimately didn’t play because he didn’t have the practice reps and the other backs were practicing better. Before he was injured against the Ravens, Samuels’ role in the offense was steadily increasing. A key component of the Steelers’ Wildcat formation, Samuels has 18 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown in four games this season.
Samuels will be ready to go Sunday, Tomlin said.
In addition to the running backs’ injuries, the Steelers will also be without starting left guard Ramon Foster for the foreseeable future. He suffered a concussion midway through Monday’s game and was replaced by B.J. Finney, who played 49% of the offensive snaps.
“Ramon Foster is in the concussion protocol,” Tomlin said. “That’s a mystical place from my standpoint. When they tell me he’s back, he’s back. Until then, we’ll make other plans accordingly. I liked the work of B.J. Finney in his absence.”
Source : ESPN
