Despite a low rep rookie season, James Conner isn’t on his way down the depth chart in Pittsburgh. His 32 rushes for 144 yards and no touchdowns compares to an average week for Le’Veon Bell, but even with little playing time in 2017, Conner is on the high road to a long Steelers career.
He’s a hometown hero. No one wants to get rid of the guy who beat all odds and then got to stay in the city that made him. Conner may not be the superstar running back for the Steelers that he was for the Panthers, but he’s young and sitting behind the NFL’s best runner.