What will be awaiting RB Anthony McFarland Jr. as he returns from the Reserve/Injured List? While not officially activated, it’s been made clear that he will be returning to the 53-man roster after missing the past four games, yet it’s hard to know when and in what capacity.
The veteran earned the kick return role to start the season and did a reasonably fine job of it in the opener before landing on IR thereafter. He also played a small bit on offense, serving in the role of pass catcher, coming up with a couple of catches, including one on a key fourth-down conversion.
But CB Desmond King II has been returning kicks, and RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have been the bell cows since the start of the 2022 season. Fresh off of injury and trying to get on the moving train, where will he fit in?
All he can do is whatever the coaches ask of him, naturally. “Just help those guys out”, he told reporters, via the team’s website, when asked what he can contribute in the run game. “They’re already doing their thing, doing what they’re supposed to do in the run game. I’ll just come in and help those guys out”.
McFarland did not record a carry in his five offensive snaps against the San Francisco 49ers, though to be fair, the Steelers only ran the ball 10 times in total, and that number includes a quarterback scramble. They have averaged 22 rushing attempts per game since then.
On the practice squad last season, McFarland only dressed for one game in 2022. He recorded six rushes at that time for 30 yards while catching two passes for 11 yards. That one game accounts for about a quarter to a fifth of his career output thus far despite being drafted in 2020. He knows even after all this time he’s still just trying to establish himself.
Of the returning TE Pat Freiermuth and WR Diontae Johnson, also coming off injury, McFarland said that “they’re very valuable to the offense. Me, I’m still trying to make my way here, do the right things”, and that’s certainly true.
He was young, raw, and inexperienced coming out of college, still learning to be a professional, even to be an adult for that matter. But he has matured steadily on and off the field over the past two years, even if he lost out to Warren a year ago. Now he’s ready to continue to try to get back on course.
“I’m excited just to be back out there with the team”, he said. “It’s different, just being on the side, not really in tune, and then just coming back and actually having a helmet on, interacting and just being with the team”.
Now back with his teammates in a participatory capacity, McFarland is prepared to contribute however and wherever he is asked to do so. Whether it’s returning kicks, running between the tackles, or catching passes, he will stand by and be ready whenever his number is called.
