Steelers running back James Conner is scheduled to be a free agent following the 2020 season. Still, he says it “would be hard” to play for another NFL team.
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“It would be hard, it would be hard to put another helmet on. Just because of everything and what this city means to me,” Conner told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “The city I played my college ball in, the city I had my life saved in, became healthy. The city I got drafted to, and I want to be able to say the city I brought a championship to…It would be hard. I’m Pittsburgh through and through.”
Conner’s loyalty to the Steelers hasn’t wavered. However, his stock has. In 2018, he shined as the team’s new replacement for Le’Veon Bell, posting 973 rushing yards, a per carry average of 4.5 yards, and 497 receiving yards. However, he slumped last year along with the rest of the Steelers’ offense. Conner had just 464 yards on the ground and played in just six games.
This year, the Steelers expect the University of Pittsburgh product to come back strong and healthy. It’s not easy to rehab from knee and shoulder injuries, but no one is counting Conner out after he bounced back from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
This year, Conner will be supported by Benny Snell, fourth-round rookie Anthony McFarland Jr., and Jaylen Samuels. If he’s able to reprise his 2018 performance, he should be in line for a nice pay bump in 2021, and he’ll probably get that deal from the Steelers.
agents must hate when players say things like this
I can’t believe he’s already a free agent next season…time flies when you’re having fun, injured, plus waiting on others that may or may not come back to play… haha
It’s just lip service. Players always say they want to stay around
Exactly, does Matthew Stafford really want to spend his career with the dysfunctional, sad sack of crap Detroit Lions?
All the more reason to respect him. Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
@eatdust yes Stafford does, because that Lions team has made him one of the highest paid in league history and he doesn’t even have to win a playoff game
James’ story is a great one. Hope the Steelers figure it out.
We love this guy .. just want some depth behind him
They should sign Freeman to a one-year prove-it deal
Not after drafting McFarland
An injury-prone fourth rounder shouldn’t preclude them from making a low-risk high-reward investment
McFarland absolutely has potential but is a different style. Dont see him as an every down back and definitely not in 2020
Agree on Freeman as depth. Similar to when DeAngelo William’s gave us a solid year behind Bell
That’s what I was thinking. Plus he adds a pass-catching element to the offense as a checkdown target for an aging Ben
And not forget veteran pass blocking skills that get overlooked.
F*CK CANCER!!! Connor keep strong!
Young man, you aren’t going anywhere. You’re a Steeler for life. You don’t have to leave. Perform at a high level, the Steelers will find a way. It’s a family and you’re part of it
Unless you are a top receiver.
Or RB
A family thats been dredgull underwhelming the past decade
Dreadfully*
Like Lev Bell?
‘Perform at a high level, the Steelers will find a way.’
I guess Le’veon Bell, Antonio Brown, and Mike Wallace did not perform at a high level.
Nor Holmes or Plax
Holmes was dumped for a 5th round pick after he threw a beer mug at a woman.
Once again, not Steelers fault.
Ridiculous to say the Steelers dont keep guys around when they’re consistently right up against the cap solely because they lock up their own
HA !!
Let’s break this down. AB still had 3 years left on his deal when he cried his way out.
As for Bell, he ultimately had to settle for less from the Jets than the Steelers offered him in the first place.
Wallace wanted an insane amount that wouldnt have gotten had orgs like the Dolphins didn’t exist.
Dont see how any of those are the Steelers fault.
Want to hang around Pittsburgh just go all Big Ben. They will turn a blind eye in seconds.
@jkoms:
-Brown was one of the best receivers in the league. Steelers shipped him off because he had issues with Ben Roethlisberger and the organization sided with Roethlisberger, who has sexually assaulted several women
-Bell was one of the best RBs in the league before the Steelers decided not to pay him, so he sat out a full year. What he signed with the Jets for is irrelevant. Your assertion was that the Steelers ‘find a way’. They did not with Bell.
-Wallace was a top tier receiver. The Steelers decided not to pay him. They did not ‘find a way’, which, again, was your assertion.
If James Connor wants even $5 more than the Steelers want to pay, he’ll be gone. The only player they seem willing to bend on is Roethlisberger, who has sexually assaulted several women. Some franchise.
Not a Steelers fan, but you lost me when you assumed Ben’s guilt despite the total lack of a criminal conviction to cast shade on him. Use all the hyphens you want, but this is fan thinking and is just as biased as the comment you replied to. The guy didn’t say anything bad about any other team. Cut him some slack and stop looking through fan glasses.
I’m not looking through fan glasses. I don’t care about the Steelers one way or the other (Giants fan). The guy said that if you ‘perform at a high level, the Steelers will find a way’. I just gave three solid examples of players playing at a high level and the Steelers letting them go over money or petty arguments.
And you don’t need a criminal conviction to have done something wrong. That’s crazy talk. Read about both of the accusations about Roethlisberger. He settled the first one (ie, he paid them not pursue legal/civil action) and he lost sponsorships because of his actions. The second one had police misconduct throughout and ended up with Roethlisberger getting suspended. Your head has to be buried all the way to China to think that he’s innocent.
You lost me when you said paying Bell would be a good idea.
Bell was a loser who sat out an entire season despite the Steelers offering more than he got from the Jets.
Also how could you say they made the wrong choice Ben over AB?
Rct is so dumb it’s not even funny
“You lost me when you said paying Bell would be a good idea.”
I literally never said that. You said, and I quote, ‘perform at a high level, the Steelers will find a way’. Bell was a First Team All-Pro and the Steelers let him walk over money.
This has nothing to do with what the Jets offered him over a year after he last played football. This is the Steelers letting a First Team All-Pro walk instead of ‘finding a way’. You are wrong and your silly nonsense about the Steelers being a family and ‘finding a way’ is easily disprovable by the three examples I gave you.
Trust me, if Conner wants some extra money, the Steelers will let him walk.
Agreed
Well there’s always the Pirates.
The Pirates? Pittsburgh still has a baseball team? With uniforms and everything?
Yeah, the exact same ones as used by the NHL and NFL teams.
Conner = Kijana Carter
Except Carter was the #1 overall pick and expected to be the franchise cornerstone for 5-10 years. Connor was a 3rd rounder drafted to compliment and maybe replace Bell. There is a big difference between the expectations of the 2 players. The only real similarities are they both went to college in PA, both are RBs, and both got drafted.