Steelers RB Najee Harris Expects to Play, See Less Snaps Moving Forward
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris has questions surrounding his health for Week 2, but the second-year back feels confident he'll play against the New England Patriots.
Harris left in the fourth quarter of the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals with a lower-body injury. He didn't return, was seen in a walking boot after the game, and is now in question for Week 2. Head coach Mike Tomlin said there's optimism but uncertainty for his availability this week.
Harris also suffered a lisfranc sprain in his left foot during training camp but said this is a new injury and hasn't affected the sprain.
"It's part of the sport, man," Harris said. "I mean it's a little injury. I got hurt plenty of times, you know? I mean I had like six, seven weeks to let it calm down - the original injury - and it's good now there's nothing wrong with it, man."
According to the second-year back, he does plan to play in Week 2. He doesn't expect to take on every snap, though.
Undrafted rookie Jaylen Warren will take on some of the workload to help reduce Harris's touches and protect the longevity of the running back moving forward.
"He's actually helping me out to get me off the field a lot on some downs to get out of extra hits," Harris said. "I think last year I played the most snaps in the NFL. Going into the second year, I can't do that, especially for a running back - it's too violent. If I'm going to last longer, every now and then you have to have somebody spell you."
The Steelers will take a deeper look at his progression during the last two days of practice before making a final decision. They'll want Harris to take some hits before seeing how difficult it is to play with the injury.
As for the offense, they'll look to improve from Week 1 when their leading rusher was wide receiver Chase Claypool. Harris expects the group to take steps forward with him on the field.
"We're improving every game," Harris said. "We still have to work on some stuff. Even as a whole, not even as a running game, we have to work on some stuff on offense. We had a lot of opportunities because of the defense giving us the ball. We didn't capitalize on most of them. We've got to make sure that every time we get the ball from the defense, we at least put some points on the board."
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