James Conner's Ankle 'Trending in Right Direction'
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner is still nursing an ankle injury that removed him from the team's season-opener on Monday night.
The fourth-year back left during the second quarter of the Steelers vs New York Giants matchup in Week 1 but remained optimistic of his return for Week 2. Head coach Mike Tomlin said he'd "leave the door open" for Conner to play against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but would need to continue evaluating his progress throughout the week.
Conner returned to practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday. He was a full participant throughout the team's drills and said he practiced again Friday with the team.
Conner described his progression as "trending in the right direction," saying he'll continue to have treatment done to his ankle throughout the weekend and into Sunday.
He said he didn't return to the field during the team's Week 1 game because of the lack of pressure has was able to put on the ankle. He confirmed it wasn't a pre-existing condition.
"Something wasn't feeling right. It was hurting for me to put pressure on it. Not exactly sure how that happened," Conner said. "I tried to watch the film, it's a little blurry."
Conner spent the second half trying to stretch his lower-body on the sidelines but didn't make enough progress to put his helmet back on.
"It was frustrating because I want to be out there, but we won the game and that's the most important thing," Conner said. "I'm not naive, I know stuff happens. I've been trying to do everything I can to stay healthy. I'm going to stay in my lane. I'm in God's hands, everything's going to be alright."
Heading into Sunday, Conner doesn't know what his status will be or how large his workload will be if he can play. Benny Snell Jr. took over the backfield in Conner's absence, rushing for 113 yards against the Giants.
"I just got to be there for my teammates. Keep trending in the right direction with [my ankle] and we'll see what happens on Sunday," Conner said. "Benny [Snell], Jaylen [Samuels], all those guys, they've been playing huge. So, having the starting label, I'm not really a selfish guy, I just want to be able to be out there and compete."
If he's unable to take on the feature back role he was set to play in Week 1, he's confident Snell will be able to carry the backfield once again.
"100 yards. Closing the game out towards the end. Good, hard running. Falling forward. I see a guy who's constantly been improving ever since I've seen him step into this organization," Conner said. "It's so cool to see a guy take it so serious and transform his body. He's playing big for us."
Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
