Aug 20, 2017 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – We finally got an extended look at running back James Conner in Sunday’s 17-13 Steelers’ win over the Atlanta Falcons. While his final numbers looked like he had a strong day, it was a day typical of a rookie seeing his first NFL action.

Conner, the former Pitt star whose battle to return to football after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma has been well documented, finished his first preseason game with the Steelers with 98 yards on 20 carries and one reception for three yards.

On paper, that looks like a solid day.

But let’s tap the brakes on Conner being a replacement for Le’Veon Bell anytime soon.

Don’t think that momentum is building? Consider this post on social media during the game by Pro Football Talk.

“James Conner costs $3.1 million for four years. Le’Veon Bell costs $12.1 million for one. #justsaying,” the site posted on its Twitter feed.

Seriously?

At halftime, he had five carries for 13 yards, which included an 11-yard carry on a third-and-21 draw. He also dropped a pair of passes, including one on third-and-short at midfield where nobody was around him.

“We potentially could have scored on that drive,” head coach Mike Tomlin said.

This is not to say Conner didn’t have his moments Sunday night. More than half of his yards – 68 to be exact – came on 10 carries in the fourth quarter.

Conner admitted he did some good and bad things in this game.

“I’m thankful we got the win,” he said. “I have a lot of things to do and get better on.

“I’m going to go in there and take a look at the film to see how I did. I’ll know a little better after I watch it on film.”

This is not to downgrade Conner’s performance at all. He did play better as the game wore on, something you’d expect from a player who missed as much time as he has since joining the Steelers as a third-round draft pick.

He suffered a hamstring injury in rookie minicamp that sidelined him for the remainder of the team’s offseason workouts. On the first day the Steelers practiced in pads at Saint Vincent College, he suffered a shoulder injury.

After only returning to practice last week, Tomlin ran Conner as much as he did for two reasons: to get a good look at him since he hadn’t seen much to this point and to text Conner’s stamina.

“I thought he represented himself well, particularly from a conditioning standpoint,” Tomlin said. “(You can’t) underscore that element of it. I know that as a professional athlete generally he’s in shape, but he had not played a lot of football. And to be able to execute the large number of snaps that he did was encouraging.”

Encouraging for sure. But encouraging enough for the Steelers to be ready to move on from Bell, their team MVP from a year ago and a two-time Pro Bowl player?

Nope.

What Conner did do Sunday night was wrestle control of the backup job away from Fitzgerald Toussaint, who had been holding that place for him throughout training camp.

That was the plan when the Steelers selected Conner in the third round and declined to re-sign former backup DeAngelo Williams. But they weren’t going to hand it to him. He was going to have to earn that spot.

Sunday was the first step toward that result.

But it most certainly wasn’t the first step toward Conner replacing Bell anytime soon.

As soon as Bell decides to rejoin the team and sign his franchise tender offer – which could be as early as this week – he will sit atop the Steelers’ depth chart at running back.

Conner remains a great story. His battle back from cancer is something that can and has inspired many people.

And he has the potential to be a solid contributor for the Steelers both this season and down the road.

He has to stay on the field – something that has been an issue to this point – and continue to improve upon what he did Sunday night.

Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.