The Pittsburgh Steelers will need their offense at full strength if they hope to keep pace with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in this weekend’s AFC Wild Card playoff game.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the status of one of their stars now appears to be in doubt.
According to Pittsburgh’s first injury report of the week, rookie running back Najee Harris did not practice on Wednesday. He appeared on the list with an elbow injury that he sustained early in last Sunday’s overtime victory against the Baltimore Ravens.
Harris managed to return to the game last weekend after getting banged up. He ended the contest with 11 carries for 28 yards and four receptions for 27 yards.
“He has been aggressive in terms of the treatment,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of Harris Wednesday. “It will slow him in the beginning portions of the week, and then we’ll let practice participation and how he feels be our guide as we get closer to game time.”
A look at player injuries & practice participation for the Wild Card Round. @UPMCSportsMed https://t.co/nVJkP59GPE
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 12, 2022
Harris has been a revelation for Tomlin and the Steelers running game this year. After Pittsburgh selected him in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the former Alabama star has proven to be an immediate contributor both as a ballcarrier and as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
Harris ended his first NFL regular season as the league’s fourth-leading rusher with 1,200 yards on 307 carries. He added 74 catches for 467 yards and scored 10 total touchdowns while playing in all 17 games.
The Steelers (9-7-1) will need to make a significant adjustment to the offensive gameplan if Harris isn’t able to go by Sunday night. Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, and Kalen Ballage are the other backs on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster, but none of them provide Tomlin with the same sort of versatility as the rookie.
The next update on Harris’ status will come on the Steelers’ next injury report on Thursday.
The post Steelers Get Discouraging Wednesday News On Najee Harris appeared first on The Spun.
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