Category: Jaylen Warren

Will Jaylen Warren play this week? Injury updates for Steelers RB

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren is dealing with a back injury. Here are the latest updates.

A few new names, including running back Jaylen Warren, popped up on Pittsburgh Steelers injury report on Thursday that could impact their critical brawl with the Baltimore Ravens.

Warren, 26, is coming off his best game of the year in Pittsburgh’s win over the Washington Commanders with 14 carries for 66 yards and a pair of receptions for 29 yards. Unfortunately, he had what was a tone-changing fumble at the goal line.

A knee injury sidelined Warren for two games earlier this season. We’ll see if he can practice tomorrow; otherwise, his status for the critical brawl with Baltimore will be in jeopardy.

Jaylen Warren injury update

Warren was a full participant on Wednesday, so his addition is something to monitor. Najee Harris (ankle), who did not practice on Wednesday, returned to full participation on Thursday.

How long will Jaylen Warren be out?

Back injuries are no joke and, depending on severity, could be a concern. Given the injury is new, no official information is available on how long Warren could be out.

Steelers running back depth chart

Warren is second on Pittsburgh’s depth chart, and should he be sidelined, those duties would fall to Cordarrelle Patterson. The Steelers will likely elevate one of two practice squad backs, Aaron Shampklin or Jonathan Ward.

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Could potential trade target give Pittsburgh three-headed RB monster?

While WR is a big area of concern for Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, the team should inquire about Chicago’s RB Khalil Herbert.

The Steelers’ RB room could go from great, to unstoppable with a potential trade for Chicago Bears RB Khalil Herbert.  Fans of the Steel City understand the team’s identity on offense and what they do well—running the football.  Third-string Steelers’ RB and kick returner, Cordarrelle Patterson, has been injured for the past four Steelers’ contests, forcing the the team to rely on practice squad elevations to alleviate depth concerns.

Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren form one of the most deadly rushing attack tandems in the league today, and a cheap trade for Herbert could make this Steelers offense even deadlier.

As Herbert has been used sparingly by Chicago, he would likely be relatively cheap to acquire. Steelers’ General Manager Omar Khan has a track record of acquiring great talent for far less than their expected market value, and Herbert could be seen as a layup for the Pittsburgh GM.

An acquisition of Herbert takes nothing away from the team’s need for a WR trade at the November 5th deadline, but makes all the difference in adding another dynamic playmaker to the running game.

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Steelers RB plans to play Week 1 vs Falcons

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren told reporters that he’ll play Week 1 of the NFL regular season against the Atlanta Falcons.

Initial reports stated that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren would be out in a few weeks, and it appears that’s the timeline.

Warren told Steelers reporters on Monday that he will play in the Sept. 8 regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

As far as injuries go, it’s been an ideal scenario for Warren, who sustained a hamstring injury in game two of the preseason. He’s been able to rest and rehab to prepare to share the load with Najee Harris.

Cordarrelle Patterson, who did score a 31-yard touchdown on the Steelers opening drive last week, isn’t really the guy you want backing up Harris.

Warren has been a bright spot since the Steelers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Pittsburgh doubled his workload last season, and Warren responded with 1,154 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.

Both Harris and Warren are in the final year of their rookie contracts. The Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option in March, forcing him to prove he’s worth a big contract in 2025. Warren will be a restricted free agent.

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Mike Tomlin offers update on Steelers RB Jaylen Warren injury

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t see Jaylen Warren’s injury as a long-term concern.

Pittsburgh Steelers fans clenched their pearls on Saturday as they watched Jaylen Warren head to the blue medical tent.

Warren caught a check-down pass by Russell Wilson and was engulfed by Bills defenders. Shortly after, he spent time in the blue medical tent before walking to the locker room. It was later revealed Warren had sustained a hamstring injury.

On Tuesday, Mike Tomlin provided a brief update on his running back’s status going forward. “He is out probably out for this week, but not anything that’s a long-term concern,” Tomlin said via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.

A source of Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz said that Warren could miss a few weeks, while Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac thinks he could be ready for the season opener.

Only Tomlin, the trainers and Jaylen Warren know when Jaylen Warren will be ready.

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Steelers RB Jaylen Warren offers sobering commentary on George Pickens

Jaylen Warren says he would have blocked for George Pickens but some guys play differently.

Sometimes, when you want to get your point across, it’s not about saying a lot, it’s just about making things clear. You don’t need to scream or yell and you can be heard loud and clear. That’s what Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren did with a single sentence when asked about teammate George Pickens making the conscious decision to not block for Warren on a run that might have scored because Pickens was concerned about getting hurt.

“If I was in that position I would have blocked for him,” Warren said.

This wasn’t all that Warren said but this is what mattered. Warren made it clear that injury wouldn’t have been on his mind. He’d have done what had to be done for his teammate.

Pickens has proven this season to be all about himself instead of the team. The only thing worse than his behavior is the fact that the team doesn’t seem to be doing anything to address it. Meanwhile, the next time Warren is out there, doing all he can to help the team win, he has to wonder if his teammate is going to make a business decision or have his back.

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Steelers RB Jaylen Warren downplays career outing vs. Packers

With every snap, Jaylen Warren plays like a guy who got overlooked in the NFL draft — because he was.

With every snap, Jaylen Warren plays like a guy who got overlooked in the NFL draft — because he was. And the Pittsburgh Steelers are thankful for it.

Seemingly fueled by his introduction as a co-starter alongside Najee Harris, Warren went on a tear against the Green Bay Packers finishing with a career-best 101 (6.7 yards per carry) and a touchdown.

It’s a big deal for Pittsburgh, which hasn’t had a 100-yard runner since Harris blasted the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 2022 with 111 yards. That was his only 100-yard game of the season, and he hasn’t had one since.

But the soft-spoken Warren downplayed the accomplishment. “I mean it was cool,” he said in a Monday press conference. “Like I said I said yesterday, as long as we got the W, that’s that’s all I care about.”

Though Harris isn’t going to just lie down, his and Warren’s careers play perfectly into the ongoing debate of the value of drafting a running back in the first round. Harris, of course, was Pittsburgh’s first overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft and Warren never heard his name called the following year. Yet the undrafted free agent is proving to be just as valuable to Pittsburgh as the first-rounder.

Mike Tomlin shouted from the rooftops that Harris was Pittsburgh’s “bell cow,” but he can’t deny it anymore — limiting Warren would be detrimental to their attempt to establish an identity as a run-heavy offense.

Through the first nine games of the 2023 season, Harris has 134 touches and three touchdowns to Warren’s 102/2.

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NFL should be ashamed of fines against Steelers RB Jaylen Warren

The NFL is literally stealing money from running back Jaylen Warren and should be ashamed.

I will never pretend to understand why the NFL does what they do. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for how they enforce their rules and the mantra of player safety is nothing more than a facade.

The NFL has also never been very subtle when it comes to targeting players for punishment and once you are on their radar, the league seems to have no principles when it comes to creating a financial hardship for a player for no good reason.

The latest player the league seems to have some sort of personal stake in ruining is Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren. The league fined Warren more than $48,000 last week for a block he made on a blitz pickup that did not draw a flag, which amounted to the entirety of his game check.

This is the second time this season Warren has gotten a massive fine like this for a legal block the officials on the field felt was well within the rules. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his $64 million a year salary should be ashamed. Warren’s base salary is only $870,000 so he has been fined over 10 percent of his earnings for two legal plays.

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It’s time to stop with the Jaylen Warren RB1 narrative

Jaylen Warren will take over the starting role from Najee Harris has been the narrative since he first joined the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jaylen Warren is more explosive, so he’s going to supplant Najee Harris as the lead running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers when it’s all said and done. That’s been the narrative, even dating back to the 2022 season.

Just stop.

They’re two different backs, and they complement each other. That’s all there is to it. We know how stubborn Mike Tomlin is. The Steelers spent a first-round pick on Harris and signed Warren as a college free agent. Even if it does appear Warren would benefit Pittsburgh more as the lead back, he’ll never make the change.

It’s been said that Matt Canada will call a run-heavy offense this year, helping to take some pressure off Kenny Pickett. Having a change-of-pace run game with two different style runners should accomplish that.

Harris racked up 1,263 scrimmage yards (1,034 rushing, 229 receiving) and 10 total touchdowns in 2022. As a rookie, Warren rushed for 379 yards and an additional 214 yards as a receiver.

Do the math, and Warren averaged a yard per carry more than Harris. Good for him, but that doesn’t mean Harris’ starting job is in jeopardy. It simply means Pittsburgh has two efficient runners with different styles who can help accomplish what Canada is going for.

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