The Pittsburgh Steelers saw a key piece of their offense go down with an injury in the preseason Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills after running back Jaylen Warren exited early with a hamstring injury.
On Sunday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that Warren is slated to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, which obviously puts his status for Week 1 in doubt, as the beginning of the regular season is a little under three weeks away.
However, there was a more optimistic report for Warren's status on Monday, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac reported that he has a "typical hamstring injury" that will take a "couple weeks recovery" and the Steelers back has a chances to be ready for Week 1 on Sunday, Sept. 8.
Jaylen Warren injury fantasy football impact
After tallying 105 touches during his rookie campaign, Warren had a bigger role in the Steelers' offense in 2023 with a career-high 210 touches that he turned into 784 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards and four touchdowns, all of which were career-highs for him. Warren finished as RB30 overall, making him a flex option.
Jaylen Warren typical hamstring injury — couple weeks recovery. Could be ready for season opener
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) August 19, 2024
In the process of Warren garnering more work, he has cut into the workload of the team's No. 1 back, Najee Harris, who has gone from 381 touches in 2021 before Warren got there, to 313 and 284 in the two years with Warren on the team.
If Warren is forced to miss time, Harris figures to get more work. Adding to that, we wouldn't trust any of the other running backs on the Steelers' roster to be relevant in Warren's absence.
After an impressive rookie season, Harris has been a disappointment in recent years. After finishing as RB4 overall in his rookie season, Harris has posted rankings of RB12 and RB20 the past two years.
Some of that has to do with Warren cutting into his workload, of course, but Harris hasn't been particularly great and his offensive line has struggled. Warren has routinely stood out as the more effective back, also.
Things should be better upfront and in the offense overall for the Steelers in 2024 after they made upgrades at quarterback and along the offensive line, but Harris should be viewed as a flex option until we see those improvements in the flesh.
