After being placed on a pitch count for the first three weeks of the 2024 regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially ruled out speedy Running Back Jaylen Warren for the team’s Week 4 road game against the Indianapolis Colts. With Warren out, it will be Cordarrelle Patterson backing up Najee Harris as injuries continue to plague the Steelers in 2024.
Warren Ruled Out With Knee Injury
Warren has provided a dangerous, speedy complement to the bruising, downhill running style of Harris, but 2024 hasn’t gotten off to the kind of start the third-year former undrafted free agent had hoped for. The Steelers’ new Offensive Coordinator, Arthur Smith, builds the weekly strategy with the backfield as a key priority. Warren was eager to hit the ground running – literally – as a follow-up to the 1,163 rushing yards he compiled in his first two NFL seasons. However, a meager 14 carries for 54 yards shows just how little he has been available to the Steelers.
It has been one thing after another for Warren since the Steelers’ 2024 preseason. During Pittsburgh’s second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, Warren injured his hamstring, which would keep him out of the third preseason game against the Detroit Lions. It initially didn’t appear as though it would hamper the running back into the regular season, but his low volume of snaps is telling another story. In Week 3, during which Warren was limited again, he suffered a knee injury that will now keep him out of Sunday’s road contest in Indianapolis.
Steelers Depth Ready To Go
With Warren officially ruled out, the Steelers will be leaning heavily on a two-back rotation, which is Harris and Patterson, to carry the running game against the Colts. That doesn’t mean they will be the only two running backs utilized by Pittsburgh on Sunday. Sixth-year veteran Jonathan Ward is currently one of two running backs on the Steelers’ practice squad. While the former Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans player doesn’t have the statistics that one would want from an NFL journeyman, his experience could be the difference between staying put and being called up for a game or two.
If it isn’t Ward, the Steelers also have Aaron Shampklin on the practice squad if necessary. Unlike Ward, Shampklin is a virtual unknown despite being on multiple teams in his short career, including the Dallas Cowboys and the USFL Houston Gamblers. Considering the back in question would be temporarily stepping in for Warren, there is a chance that Shampklin’s 5-foot-10 195-pound frame and 4.48 time in the 40-yard dash could prove attractive. Whether in-house or by free agency, the Steelers have options for Warren’s absence.
Final Thoughts
While it is never a positive to have a player missing time due to injury, this may be the best situation for it to have happened. The Colts are 31st in the NFL when defending against the running game, with the only team worse being the Dallas Cowboys. Those two teams just happen to be the next two on Pittsburgh’s 2024 schedule. Considering that the Steelers are 12th in rushing offense, one of the best marks by far that Pittsburgh has had early in a season, the advantage seems to be squarely on the Steelers’ side.
Warren is needed back soon, but until then, the stars have lined up to make it a bit easier for Pittsburgh. Smith isn’t Matt Canada, meaning that in 2024 the Steelers have a competent offensive coordinator. Whatever gap Warren leaves in the offensive strategy, Smith will have several answers ready. Not to mention that the depth in Pittsburgh’s backfield is excellent.
Harris is already off to the fastest start of his career through the first three weeks of a season with 209 yards (123 in 2021, 128 in 2022, and 139 in 2023), the pressure is on the Colts to stop what is coming on Sunday. So far, Indianapolis has been unable to contain the run, and it won’t go better against the Steelers.
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