Jaylen Warren, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third-year running back, suffered a hamstring injury in the second preseason game. While the Steelers have arguably the best running back tandem in the NFL, they work best by committee. But Warren says there is no reason for concern and that he will be out there or the season opener.
“It’s nothing major”, Warren told Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He went so far as to say that he would play in tomorrow’s game against the Detroit Lions if necessary. “But you have to be smart”, he noted, coming back from a hamstring injury. “I am fine. We are just looking at this point to the regular season”.
Adamski writes that Warren also gave a flat “No” when asked if there were any worry about his status for the Steelers’ Week 1 opener against the Atlanta Falcons, so there you go. Expect to see him working in tandem with Najee Harris when they open the season in a couple weeks.
Shortly after the injury, Gerry Dulac reported that Warren would miss “multiple weeks”, but that includes preseason weeks. The Steelers still have one more preseason game and then effectively a “bye” before the first regular-season game on Sept. 8.
He and others also suggested that his status for the season opener was in doubt, but Warren doesn’t think so. One does wonder, however, if the Steelers would carefully monitor his snaps assuming he does play. The last thing you want to do coming back from a hamstring injury is aggravate it.
A former college free agent, Jaylen Warren has gained a good deal of respect around the league. He raised his profile last season, totaling over 1,000 yards from scrimmage, including a 74-yard touchdown run. Now teammates, former Baltimore Ravens ILB Patrick Queen admits he hated trying to tackle Warren.
Any injury to Warren or Harris, for that matter, is significant given that the Steelers have not used their third running back much at all the past two seasons. Anthony McFarland Jr. got a little work in the season opener last year, but an injury ended that.
Right now, Cordarrelle Patterson is set to serve as the Steelers’ third running back, but he is primarily a kick returner. He does have three years of experience running in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense, but he is also 33 years old now.
It’s hard to say, but one would think the Steelers are at least open to keeping a fourth running back. They don’t have any established names, but backs like Jonathan Ward and Daijun Edwards have some solid preseason tape.
Then again, these are players who will make it to the practice squad, in all likelihood. The Steelers can call each player from the practice squad up three times each season, which provides some insulation in the event of injury. No longer do teams have to juggle their 53-man roster due to short-term injuries like Warren’s, which sounds very short-term.
