Steelers news: Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren will suit up vs Falcons

The Pittsburgh Steelers recently received some encouraging news in regard to the status of Najee Harris. Here’s what you need to know. 

As we approach Pittsburgh’s Week 13 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, all signs seem to be pointing up for Mike Tomlin’s team. A few Steelers players have suffered some bumps and bruises over the past few weeks, but since the return of T.J. Watt, this has been one of the healthiest teams in the league on paper.

Late this week, the Steelers received more encouraging news on the injury front regarding the status of their running backs. Here’s the latest Steelers news heading into Week 13:

Najee Harris News

Things were looking grim for Najee Harris earlier this week. The former first-round pick wasn’t able to log a practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to an oblique injury he suffered against the Colts. However, Pittsburgh starting running back was able to return to practice on Friday.

Harris confirmed with the media that he plans to suit up and play this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. This is a good sign for a team that has averaged 165 rushing yards per game since their Week 9 bye. Harris had the two best games of his 2022 season prior to suffering the oblique injury on Monday Night Football.

Steelers News

In addition to Harris returning to health, the Steelers will also be getting their primary backup RB back on the field. Jaylen Warren played just 3 total snaps since Week 10 since suffering a hamstring injury, but he was able to be a full participant in practice throughout the week. After averaging 5.0 yards per carry and 8.6 yards per reception this year, he will look to give this offense a spark against the Falcons.

It is also expected that rookie DL DeMarvin Leal will return to the field this week as well. After landing on IR with a knee injury, the talented defensive lineman told the media that he is ready to return this week. He could get the green light for Sunday.

In Steelers news that perhaps just as encouraging, 9 of 10 experts from major media outlets like ESPN, NFL.com, and Bleacher Report recently picked the Steelers to defeat the Falcons this week, according to AtlantaFalcons.com writer, Ashton Edmunds.

NFL News

Antonio Brown continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. After a warrant was issued for his arrest on misdemeanor charges, it was originally reported that he was in a standoff with police. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

According to NBC’s Sam Brock, there were attempts to take Brown into custody, but police say he’s not communicating, and they weren’t sure if he was even at his home. This is just the latest incident for a player who has had run-ins with the law over the past several years.