James Conner suffers lower leg contusion in Steelers loss to Chargers
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost running back James Conner to a right leg injury in Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game that Conner had suffered a lower leg contusion.
Conner came up limping after being tackled with 4:51 remaining in the game and did not return.
Conner’s prognosis unclear
The diagnosis is relatively good news for Conner after it looked as if he may have suffered a more serious ankle injury on the play.
Tomlin did not elaborate on Conner’s prognosis, and his status for next week’s game against the Oakland Raiders and beyond is not clear.
Conner has been a revelation at running filling in for holdout Le’Veon Bell, tallying 1,376 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns in 12 games this season. His missing any time would be a blow to the Steelers, who fell to 7-4-1 with Sunday’s loss and are fending off the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North lead.
Conner’s backup Samuels inexperienced
Little-used Jaylen Samuels filled in for Conner Sunday, tallying five yards on two carries and 20 yards on three catches including a game-tying touchdown catch after Conner’s injury.
He has 10 carries for 26 yards on the season.
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