Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner may not be back in time for his team's Week 12 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Conner's, 24, status is “up in the air,” with an AC joint injury preventing confidence in the third-year rusher's return to the gridiron.
#Steelers RB James Conner’s AC joint injury isn’t worse than it’s been after he left last week’s game against the #Browns, source said. Good news overall, but status for Sunday’s game against the #Bengals is up in the air. Timeline all depends on how he feels.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 18, 2019
Conner, a local product selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, had a breakout season with Pittsburgh in 2018 while star rusher Le'Veon Bell sat out the entire season (then later signed with the New York Jets in the offseason). Since then, Conner has been the starting running back in the backfield for Mike Tomlin's team, but the banged-up rusher is questionable next week.
Conner previously missed Weeks 8 and 9 against the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams, respectively—both wins—but returned in the Cleveland Browns game during Thursday Night Football in Week 11 that turned into a brawl at the end.
Conner is the Steelers' leading rusher this season, with 390 yards on the ground, scoring four touchdowns along with two receiving TD's.
Rookie running back Benny Snell Jr. missed Pittsburgh's loss-turned-skirmish against the Browns on Thursday with a knee injury—his third consecutive sidelined matchup. Snell has 118 rushing yards in seven games.
Second-year rusher Jaylen Samuels is also waiting in the wings (he had 26 rushing yards on five carries against Cleveland). Per the team's website, Samuels called himself ready regardless of Conner's status.
“I don’t know James’ status yet,” said Samuels. “Whatever his status is, I will be ready to go if he is not ready. If he is ready to go that is a blessing. If he is not, I have to step up. Next man up mentality.