The Week 1 status of Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren has been up in the air since he suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills.
Warren, who suffered the injury in the first quarter of the contest, didn't practice at all last week, and he also didn't suit up for the team's preseason finale on Saturday against the Detroit Lions.
However, there is great news for Warren's Week 1 status to start the week. The young running back was spotted doing some light work at practice on Monday, according to video from Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Injured Steelers Jaylen Warren (hamstring) and Roman Wilson (ankle) doing some light work at practice today during the media photo window pic.twitter.com/r1RY5XyXaw
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) August 26, 2024
Warren also spoke to the media before practice and gave an update on his Week 1 status, telling reporters he expects to play.
Jaylen Warren injury update
According to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Warren revealed that he will indeed suit up for the Week 1 game versus the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 8.
Jaylen Warren said he will play in the regular season opener in Atlanta.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) August 26, 2024
Warren is coming off a career-best campaign in which he tallied 784 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He is expected to play a significant role once again in the offense, serving as the No. 2 back behind Najee Harris.
There is a possibility he sees more work in 2024, though. Harris is in the final year of his deal and the Steelers may want to get a longer look at Warren to see if he can handle a bigger workload in the event he takes over the backfield in 2025.
That said, Harris is going to be heavily involved regardless. The best Warren can hope for is a 50/50 split in terms of touches. Harris had 284 in 2023 while Warren saw 210.
