James Conner’s Availability for Sunday in Cincinnati Very Much Up in the Air

The Steelers run game has been downright awful this season, and plenty of that has to do with the injuries suffered by leading back James Conner.

The situation with Conner came to a head on Thursday in the 21-7 loss in Cleveland, as he wasn’t on the injury report, but didn’t look right before eventually leaving the game after rushing the ball just five times for a total of 10 yards.

The team as a whole in the 14-point loss rushed for just 58 yards on 16 carries, and that’s not going to get it done.

So getting Conner back is key, but it remains to be seen if he’s going to be able to give it a go Sunday when the Steelers travel to play the 0-10 Bengals.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said during his Tuesday presser that Conner aggravated his previous shoulder injury, and playing on Sunday and even taking the practice field this week is very much up in the air.

Conner isn’t the only big name on offense that could be out, as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is in concussion protocol and also dealing with a knee issue that is being evaluated.

Fellow wide out rookie Diontae Johnson and linebacker Ola Adeniyi each suffered concussions against the Browns and are in concussion protocol, and unless they are cleared they both will be watching.

Former first-round pick cornerback Artie Burns is dealing with a minor knee injury to round out the list of the Steelers walking wounded.

There was one bit of good news, that being the availability of rookie running back Benny Snell, as his knee has healed up and he’s been cleared to return to practice.

The other injuries all bear worth watching, as right now this team is walking on a tightrope with almost not enough players it feels like to take the field.