The Pittsburgh Steelers were without the services of running back James Conner for last week's contest against the Cincinnati Bengals due to an AC joint sprain in his shoulder. But after having not practiced Wednesday, some optimism exists as it pertains to Conner's status for Sunday's matchup with the Cleveland Browns as he returned to the practice field Thursday (h/t Pro Football Talk), albeit on a limited basis.

Without Conner available to him, head coach Mike Tomlin handed a vast majority of rushing duties to rookie running back Benny Snell Jr., who reeled off 98 yards on 21 carries. He also added one catch for five yards, seeing by far his largest workload of the season. Curiously out of the mix has been Jaylen Samuels, who has seen a significant share of carries and pass-catching opportunities throughout the year for Pittsburgh.

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Conner was widely expected to become the new bell cow out of the backfield for the Steelers, although he has yet to erupt from a statistical perspective. His best game of the season came Week 8 versus Miami when he rushed for 145 yards, which marked his only time exceeding the 100-yard plateau all year. He last took the field Week 11 against Cleveland but was limited to just 10 yards on the ground across his five carries.

Fantasy owners and Steelers fans alike will want to keep an eye on Conner's status as the week progresses. With rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges tabbed to take over under center, Pittsburgh figures to lean heavily on its run game as a means of setting up their inexperienced signal-caller.