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It was a tough day on the injury front for the black and gold…
The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled out a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, but unfortunately, despite the W, they did not emerge unscathed. RB Jaylen Warren mysteriously disappeared from the lineup, taking his last snap with 10:29 left to go in the third quarter, and apparently, it was due to injury.
Brooke Pryor of ESPN notes that HC Mike Tomlin acknowledged that Warren wasn’t “running smoothly,” so they decided to pull him from the game. Warren is now set to undergo an MRI on his knee, Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports reported after the game. Watching Warren’s play through the game, he did appear to be slightly hobbled at times.
Warren was dealing with a hamstring injury suffered during the preseason but was cleared to play in Week 1. Now, he’s caught another tough break as the team was ramping up his workload. In his absence, RB/KR/former-WR Cordarrelle Patterson saw an uptick in work, also playing some snaps at wide receiver absent Van Jefferson, who exited early with an eye injury. Patterson finished the game with four carries for 33 yards and three catches for another 15 yards through the air.
The team suffered several tough blows in the Week 3 contest beyond Warren and Jefferson, with CB Cory Trice (hamstring) and OLB Alex Highsmith (groin) also exiting due to their respective injuries. All of this comes just one day after news broke that rookie OT Troy Fautanu was headed to injured reserve with a knee injury.
The Steelers are set to travel to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4, who enter this game with a 1-2 record and some struggles of their own on offense. Expect Najee Harris to get all of the work he can handle until Warren is healthy moving forward, with a healthy dose of Patterson for good measure.
The Steelers currently have two running backs on their practice squad, including Jonathan Ward and Aaron Shampklin.