To exit a game with as many injuries as points is not what you'd consider an ideal outcome, but that's exactly what happened in the Pittsburgh Steelers' preseason home loss to the Buffalo Bills. Fortunately for the Steelers, their offense was limited to only three points against the Bills on Saturday night, but the injuries they were dealt hit two key pieces of their defense, cornerback Anthony Averett and rookie linebacker Payton Wilson, in addition to third-year running back Jaylen Warren.
Now, as Jaylen Warren nurses a bum hamstring back to full health, there's no telling just how long into the regular season he'll be impacted. But early reports suggest that Warren's availability for the Steelers' regular season opener versus the Atlanta Falcons is officially in doubt.
“#Steelers RB Jaylen Warren, who left Saturday’s preseason game with a hamstring injury, could miss ‘a few weeks,' a source confirms,” tweets NFL insider Jordan Schultz. “Warren’s status for Pittsburgh’s Week 1 game vs the #Falcons is currently unclear.”
With new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith taking over the play calling duties in Pittsburgh, the expectation is that the Steelers will continue to be happy to pound the rock, and could be even more run heavy than they have been the past few seasons. This opens up the door for potentially both Jaylen Warren and backfield co-star Najee Harris to receive even more touches than they did last year. Last season, Warren and Harris combined for 404 carries for 1,819 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Breakout season could be ahead of Steelers' Jaylen Warren
After proving to be the far more efficient option within the Steelers two-headed backfield last season, Jaylen Warren was expected to carve out an even bigger role in Pittsburgh's offense this year. Last season, Warren averaged 5.2 yards per carry compared to Najee Harris 4.1, and Warren was far more involved in the passing game (61 receptions) than Harris was (29 receptions).
Najee Harris is still listed as the starter on Pittsburgh's first unofficial depth chart of the season, but Warren could very well see just as much volume as Harris once he is fully healed from a hamstring injury that could take multiple weeks to recover from. In the meantime, former Arthur Smith favorite Cordarrelle Patterson is listed as the 3rd running back on Pittsburgh's depth chart and will likely see the bulk of the touches out of the backfield when Harris heads to the sideline. The rest of the Steelers running back room consists of Jonathan Ward, Daijun Edwards, La'Mical Perine and Aaron Shampklin.
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