James Conner Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Steelers RB James Conner is officially active for tonight’s game against the Bills. He should step back in the lead back, although Pittsburgh has been going so pass-heavy lately that there hasn’t been much fantasy value in the backfield. RB Anthony McFarland is a healthy scratch tonight.

Steelers RB James Conner (COVID) "plans to play" against the Bills on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Conner will return as Pittsburgh's lead back, although the Steelers have hardly been trying to run the ball lately. Conner averaged 11.7 carries and 2.3 targets over his last 3 games.

Steelers RB James Conner is considered "unlikely" to play against Washington on Monday night, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Conner is eligible to come off the COVID list on Monday, but it doesn't sound like he's ready. So it'll be Benny Snell as Pittsburgh's lead back again this week. He turned 19 touches into 93 total yards in last week's win over the Ravens.

Steelers RB James Conner remains on the COVID list and is unlikely to be cleared for Monday night’s game vs. Washington. That’ll again leave Benny Snell as Pittsburgh’s lead back. He racked up 16 carries and 4 targets in last week's win over the Ravens.

The Ravens had no new positive COVID tests on Saturday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, and their game vs. the Steelers is still on for Tuesday night. QB Lamar Jackson, RB J.K. Dobbins and RB Mark Ingram -- along with a host of others -- will miss the game on the Baltimore side. Pittsburgh will be without RB James Conner.

Steelers RB James Conner has tested positive for COVID-19, according to NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala. A 2nd test is coming Sunday, but confirmation there will mean he'll miss Tuesday's game against the Ravens. If Conner doesn't play, then Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland would be in for more work. Make sure you plan to not have Conner in your fantasy football lineups.

This week's Ravens-Steelers game is "tentatively" being moved to Tuesday night, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That's presumably if Baltimore doesn't have any more COVID positives. There still seems to be a decent chance that this game isn't played in Week 12. Even if they play on Tuesday, QB Lamar Jackson, RB J.K. Dobbins and RB Mark Ingram will remain out. Stay tuned.

The NFL has moved this week's Steelers-Ravens game from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon as Baltimore deals with a COVID outbreak. For now, the only impact is a 2-game, rather than 3-game, Thanksgiving slate. We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation in Baltimore. We imagine more COVID positives could push the game out of this week.

The NFL announced on Thursday morning that the Steelers-Titans game will not be played this week after a 5th Titans player tested positive for COVID. We're still waiting to hear when the game will be played, but Week 4 now acts as a bye week for Steelers and Titans players. Get them out of your starting lineups.

The NFL is postponing this week's Steelers-Titans game after multiple Tennessee players tested positive for COVID earlier this week, according to ESPN's Dianna Russini. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, meanwhile, hears that the game will be rescheduled for either Monday or Tuesday. That'd keep all Pittsburgh and Tennessee players available to use in Week 4 fantasy lineups. We're keeping those guys in the Week 4 Rankings for now -- but it'd still be wise to line up alternatives in case the situation changes.

Steelers RBs James Conner and Benny Snell are expected to split carries in today's game against the Broncos, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Conner, of course, struggled early in Week 1 before exiting with an ankle injury. Snell ran for over 100 yards in his absence. HC Mike Tomlin historically prefers to ride a workhorse back, so this could turn into a hot-hand situation. Conner and Snell are both risk/reward Week 2 fantasy plays.

Steelers RB James Conner (ankle) put in full practices on Thursday and Friday and isn't listed on the final Week 2 injury report. So he'll play in this weekend's game against the Broncos. But it's unclear how carries will be divvied after RB Benny Snell played well in Conner's absence in the opener. Pittsburgh will also be without offensive linemen David DeCastro, Stefan Wisniewski and Zach Banner vs. Denver.

Steelers RB James Conner put in a full practice Thursday. That's a little surprising after he sat out Wednesday following the Monday night ankle sprain. It just might indicate that Conner could have played more against the Giants but didn't because Benny Snell displayed the hot hand. This will be a tough situation to parse for Week 2 fantasy lineups. We'll hope to get some indication on usage from Pittsburgh coaches before the Sunday games.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin indicated Tuesday that RB James Conner has a chance to play Sunday against the Broncos, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Conner left Monday night's win over the Giants with an ankle sprain and then watched Benny Snell rack up 113 yards. We'd bet that even an active Conner wouldn't operate as a workhorse against Denver. We'll watch his practice participation this week.

Steelers RB James Conner sprained his left ankle in Monday night's win over the Giants. He'll have it examined further Tuesday, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the team is "optimistic for a timely return." Conner watched Benny Snell run for 113 yards on 19 carries (5.9 per rush) in his place. That might lead to Snell siphoning some Conner carries even when the starter returns. We'll keep an eye out for further updates on the situation.

Steelers RB James Conner suffered a left ankle injury in the 1st half of Monday night's game against the Giants. He's officially questionable to return. Conner has been on the sidelines since exiting, but it doesn't look like he'll return to this one. RB Benny Snell has run well in Conner's absence. We'll update Conner's status when we learn more.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin called RB James Conner a "featured guy" and "proven runner when healthy" in a recent conference call with reporters. “I’m a featured-runner type guy by mentality,” Tomlin added. “I think that when you have a featured runner, it gives him the opportunity to drop a stake in the ground and allows others to rally around him, and it gives him a set of core base run plays that he specializes in, and you find a rhythm that way.” Tomlin has had a RB top 240 carries in 7 of his 13 seasons with the Steelers. But Conner has had trouble staying healthy; the Steelers have added Jaylen Samuels, Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland to the backfield over the last 3 drafts; and longtime Steelers insider Ed Bouchette expects more of a committee backfield this season. It'll be a situation to monitor closely throughout the summer. Right now, Conner carries a wide range of 2020 outcomes, making him a risk/reward pick in the 4th or 5th round of fantasy drafts.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is "extremely confident" QB Ben Roethlisberger (elbow) will be ready for Week 1. Big Ben is recovering from September surgery on his throwing elbow. “We like where we are," Tomlin said. "He’s throwing on a rehab schedule, and it’s going well, and we fully anticipate him being ready to go for that opener.” A healthy Roethlisberger is the key to a bounce-back season for WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and the rest of Pittsburgh's offense.

The Athletic's Ed Bouchette expects the Steelers to go with a committee backfield this season. That'd be a change from what Pittsburgh has usually done under HC Mike Tomlin. But RB James Conner has had trouble staying healthy as lead back. And the Steelers now have depth at the position with Jaylen Samuels, Benny Snell and rookie Anthony McFarland alongside Conner. "The room is crowded, but there really is not a leader of the pack," Bouchette writes. "Conner will get every chance to show he can stay healthy, and they’re likely to cut back on his carries even if he remains injury-free for two reasons: to help save him and to use some of their other backs." Conner remains the best fantasy bet here by a pretty big margin. Just don't expect him to get the RB1-level volume folks who drafted him in the 1st or 2nd round last summer thought they were getting.

The Steelers selected Maryland RB Anthony McFarland in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Watch McFarland’s 298-yard, 2-TD dismantling of Ohio State back in 2018 and you’d think he’s 1 of the top backs in this class. That was part of an impressive redshirt freshman season that saw him tally 1,034 yards on 7.9 yards per carry. 39 of his 131 carries went for 10+ yards that year. McFarland took a colossal step back this past season, though, battling through a high-ankle sprain and totaling just 614 yards on 114 carries (5.4 YPC). He’s also fairly inexperienced in the passing game, with only 24 catches across the past 2 years. But McFarland’s flashes are exciting. And the 5’8, 208-pounder confirmed his big-play ability with a 4.44-second 40 time at the Combine. He’s an intriguing addition to Pittsburgh’s backfield alongside James Conner, Benny Snell and Jaylen Samuels.