Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris left Monday's practice session early. According to ESPN's Brooke Pryor, trainers were working on his left foot, as he took his sock and shoe off. Afterwards, Harris was seen limping around the field. Head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the injury after practice, saying Harris had his foot stepped on and the injury is only minor.
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While the initial reports don't seem to signal at anything major, the severity remains unknown. At this point in training camp, seemingly all injuries are taken at a precautionary measure. Pat Freiermuth, Chase Claypool, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and others sat out of Monday's practice with minor injuries. Injuries are going to happen, but if you can avoid major ones, that's a victory coming out of training camp.
Najee Harris sock is off his left foot and he’s walking around the sideline carrying his shoe. Helmet is still on.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 1, 2022
It's not ideal, but let's not panic just yet. If it were severe, he more than likely would have been carted off the field in Latrobe, which was not the case. The injury will only re-assure the Steelers' plan to give Harris light reps this preseason, though.
This was interesting.
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) August 1, 2022
Najee Harris, limping a good bit with left shoe/sock off, just walked by himself to the far side of practice fields (away from fans), climbed a small hill, then got in a cart. #Steelers @937theFan pic.twitter.com/gyIhr6BkJs
Harris' injury let the guys behind him get in some additional reps. He's had a mostly light workload to begin training camp, likely by design as he figures to get a ton of touches once again this season. He may even get more than the 381 touches that he had in his rookie year last season. Rookies Jaylen Warren and Mataeo Durant did well in 11-on-11 drills earlier in the day, as they work toward trying to make the 53-man roster as undrafted free agents. In specific, Warren impressed in the running backs on linebackers drill as well.
Credit: Jordan Schofield/Steeler Nation (JSKO_PHOTO)
If there is any silver lining to this, it's that the running backs will continue to get meaningful snaps in training camp. Veterans Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. could be on the hot seat if guys like Warren and Durant continue to perform well. Let's continue to hope that Harris' injury isn't severe. Are you guys optimistic about the team's running back depth? Who do you think will make the 53-man roster behind Harris?
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