James Conner is no stranger to adversity. His battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is well-documented. So, when his first two seasons as professional football player ended early due to injury, he was already equipped with the mental fortitude to cope with the disappointment.
Conner is now about to enter the most important season of his NFL career – perhaps one of the most important seasons that he ever will have as a pro. This is the year where Conner can take control of how the Steelers front office views him. He had a front-row seat to the high-profile contract dispute that lead to his all-pro predecessor leaving town after the team deemed him not worth the asking price. It remains to be seen what Conner’s asking price will be, but his performance (and health) this season will determine Kevin Colbert’s willingness to meet that price. It all starts with training camp.
The period of time after the draft, but before the start of training camp is a notoriously slow time for NFL news. Consequently, the headlines are often full of all the negativity that surfaces during that time in order to fill the void. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had their fair share of negativity recently after parting ways with two All-Pro players in what amounted to be tumultuous break-ups on both accounts.
When looking around the league, this year has been no different. If you tune into your favorite sports news channel, you very well may hear about a star NFL player allegedly abusing his son, or other prominent players refusing to show up to team activities – setting the stage for the type of drama Steelers fans had to endure for the past two years. Fans take a certain measure in of pride in their teams, but with that pride comes the inevitable embarrassment of staring at a headline that puts on display the misdoings of one of your favorite players. As Steelers fans, we’ve felt that recently, but it’s time we focus on those things of which we can be proud.
May 23, tucked perfectly inside that slow news period, is the anniversary of Steelers running back James Conner being cancer-free. Conner beautifully described his battle with cancer in an article he wrote for The Players’ Tribune in July of 2016 – just two months from his announcement that he was in remission.
In that article Conner describes everything from the feeling of receiving his diagnosis to the joy of learning he beat it. He does it all with a vulnerability I thought he best summed up with the following quote:
"“Before September 6, 2015, it had been a while since I last cried. But in the time that has passed since that late summer day and right now, I’ve cried my fair share of tears.I’m not ashamed to admit that. Not one bit.I’ve heard people say that tears are words that, for one reason or another, you just can’t physically speak.”"
Those words were especially relevant to me as I found myself, after reading word 5,598 of Conner’s article, “speaking” some of those words my mouth couldn’t quite utter.
As a Pitt football fan, I remember hurting for Conner when the news of his sickness broke. I remember rejoicing with him and the rest of the nation when we learned it was gone three years ago. So, when the Steelers drafted Conner in the third round of the 2017 draft, I knew they got a fighter. As a Steelers fan, I wondered if they drafted him too high. I wondered if he’d ever be the same player again, or if the cancer took a toll on his body from which he’d never fully recover. But, as a human, I was thrilled that all of Conner’s hard work had paid off – even more so that I’d get to continue rooting for him.
And it sure was a lot of fun rooting for him last season. Conner earned a Pro Bowl nod while amassing 1,470 all purpose yards and 13 total touchdowns in 2018 – further validating the front office’s decision not to cave to Le’Veon Bell’s contract demands.
Now Conner faces a brand new test. He’s by himself atop the Steelers running back depth chart. He no longer has the impending return of an all-pro looming over him. He gets to start the season as the guy.
He also got a glimpse of the harsh reality of the NFL – that the team must constantly be looking for the next James Conner. The Steelers took another highly productive college running back in the fourth round of this year’s draft – Benny Snell Jr. out of Kentucky. Snell no doubt has aspirations beyond simply being James Conner’s backup, and as Tommy Jaggi pointed out, Conner is just an injury away from watching Snell occupy his position. So, Conner needs to show this season why he is worthy of the contract that Bell passed up or, for the first time in his life, he will be playing football somewhere other than western Pennsylvania. Considering everything I have seen from James Conner thus far, my money’s on him.
If Conner gets his wish, and he is a Steeler for life, Steelers Nation will be blessed with many more years of interruptions from the slow football news cycle. Every May 23rd, while other fans are mired in negativity, we can be reminded about how much we as Steelers fans have to be proud of.