Steelers' Conner ready to shoulder load as Bell holdout continues
James Conner is ready for his first career start on Sunday.
The second year running back will serve as a fill-in for Le'Veon Bell in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season opener.
"No pressure on me," Conner told reporters Thursday, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "There are a lot of people waiting to see how my performance is going to be. As long as we win, I'm cool."
All eyes over the past week have been on Bell, yet the three-time Pro Bowler, ironically, is nowhere to be found. The star tailback has not signed his franchise tag, and there's no indication of when he plans to report to the Steelers.
Until he does, Pittsburgh's backfield figures to belong to Conner, a former Pittsburgh star who was drafted in the third round a year ago. As a rookie, Conner ran for 144 yards on 32 rushes.
"(People) are not in my shoes. They might think it's pressure, but to me, it's just football and doing my job," Conner said. "We've been here 8-to-5. It's just my job. The outside world thinks it's pressure, but it's just football. It's always been that way."
Conner had a strong showing in the presesaon, but he doesn't bring the same versatility to the table as Bell, who is one of the few three-down running backs in the NFL.
Still, the Steelers are confident he'll be just fine in place of Bell when Pittsburgh travels to the Dawg Pound to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.
"I told you guys initially when we opened training camp that the two most important variables was when (Bell) showed up, and once he showed up the condition that he was in," head coach Mike Tomlin said while addressing his team's running back situation. "Until that time, we were gonna remain focused on those that were working and their preparation. And so that remains the same, that has been our approach, and appropriately so because now we're not riding this wave, we're preparing to play a football game with those that have been here and working."
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