James Conner Is Focused on Helping the Steelers, Not His Rep Count

PITTSBURGH -- James Conner only ran the ball eight times in his return for the Steelers in Week 15. A small rep count for the veteran running back, Pittsburgh hit the breaks on rushing him back into the lineup from an AC Joint sprain, despite Devlin Hodges' struggles.

As the offense turned the ball over five times, Conner had spirts where he wasn't on the field for stretches of plays. The running back confirmed after the game that his shoulder felt good throughout the night and wasn't sure why his workload was so low.

This week, he's looking to add more of a workload to his game but isn't expecting anything more. Without giving much of the game plan, Conner said he'll take whatever the team hands to him.

"If that's how the game goes I'll be ready for whatever," Conner said. "I don't make the decision I just execute the plays that they call."

Reflecting on his opening run against Buffalo, Conner knew the early boost helped his offense. The Steelers broke open their opening drive with a 15-yard burst from their returning back.

It was a good early sign of what's to come from Conner that night before a surprising decrease in usage, but allowed Conner to see what his shoulder could handle in his first game since Week 11.

"Anytime we get a good run like that it helps," Conner said. "But I've been working the whole time when I was rehabbing my shoulder so I didn't feel rusty or nothing out there so it felt good."

Conner said he did feel sore following the game but it wasn't anything he wasn't expecting. Admitting the injury is going to linger while he plays, he's focusing on his role.

Pittsburgh currently sits in the sixth seed of the AFC with a tight half-game lead over the Tennessee Titans. With games against the Jets and Ravens remaining, it's a must-win situation for the Steelers.

"It's not going to completely go away, I have to be honest but we're in a tough position right now we've got to win," Conner described it.

"If I was surprised or not it was kind of irrelevant," Conner replied to his lack of opportunity in his first game back."Like I said I was just executing the plays that were called."

Touching the ball only eight times isn't something the Steelers are likely going to keep in their game plan against the Jets. As they look to bring Hodges back into rhythm after throwing four interceptions in his first loss as a starter, Conner's role should grow.

He doesn't seem too worried about the amount of snaps he gets but rather what he's capable of doing with those snaps. He's focused on contributing however he's needed in this offense.

"We've talked about it being more spread out. It felt good out there and I just tried to execute the plays that were called," Conner said.