The Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with a laundry list of injuries along their offensive line, but they might be light at running back this week as well. Jaylen Warren has been dealing with a knee injury, and now Cordarrelle Patterson has an ankle issue. Najee Harris seems fine, but the depth behind him is getting tested. Harris seems comfortable with Aaron Shampklin and Jonathan Ward as his backups, though.
“A very smart player, very [physical] for his size too, just like Jaylen [Warren],” Harris said Thursday via the team’s YouTube channel. “Very physical guys. We’re not shy or scared about him going in there and running the ball or doing anything that all the other guys would do. We’re confident enough of him, we’re confident of everybody they put in there. [Jonathan] Ward too. It’s no downgrade from anybody.”
With Warren likely out again this week, and Patterson trending that way too, Shampklin will likely be the first man behind Harris. He had one carry against the Indianapolis Colts that went for 5 yards, so it won’t be his first NFL action. Shampklin has bounced around the league since 2022, actually spending time with the Cowboys that year.
He didn’t play with them, but Shampklin has a chance to show his former team what he can do. That’s probably not a thing he’s really concerned with, but he is most likely familiar with at least a few of their players. He’s got a good opportunity to make a mark against them.
The Cowboys’ run defense has been rough to start the year. They were better in their most recent game against the New York Giants, but that could have been more about the Giants being bad at running the ball. The New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens really tore up the Cowboys on the ground. Harris should still receive the bulk of the work, but Shampklin should have chances to make an impact.
Ward has been floating around the league since 2020, and while he’s still technically a member of the Steelers’ practice squad, he could be elevated for the game against the Cowboys. He ran hard in the preseason, and we’ll see if he gets any actual work this week.
The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. This week will make that evident. The Steelers will likely get Isaac Seumalo back on their offensive line, but they’ll have to turn to some running backs near the bottom of the depth chart. As long as they hold onto the football and don’t make any huge mistakes, they should be fine. The Steelers don’t need them to be heroes. They just need to be serviceable.
