James Conner is the Steelers lead running back going into the 2020-2021 NFL season. Conner was selected in the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers to back up Le’Veon Bell, and he played sparingly for Pittsburgh during his rookie season before being placed on the injured reserve to finish the year.
When the 2017 offseason began, the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell had begun to discuss an extension. Bell had stated that if he were franchised again, he would sit out to start the season. Surely enough, the Steelers and Bell could not come to an agreement, and Bell refused to sign his franchise tag.