In a little over an hour, we'll know for certain whether LeVeon Bell is playing this season or not. If he doesn't show up by 4 p.m. Eastern, he's done for the year. At that point, there will be no threat to the feature back status of James Conner. And fantasy teams can also consider adding Jaylen Samuels.
Conner suffered a concussion against Carolina last Thursday night and is currently in the protocol. With the extra time, good chance he gets cleared, but maybe not. And even if Conner is good to go for Week 11, his handcuff has some value, since the Steelers like to feature one running back.
Mike Tomlin spoke favorably of Samuels today, saying he liked the cut of his jib or something similar. The fifth-round rookie picked up some snaps after Conner got hurt against Carolina last week, scoring a late touchdown.
Pittsburgh also has Stevan Ridley, and it's possible he'd start if Conner can't get cleared for Sunday. He also played against Carolina, carrying 8 times for 26 yards. Both backs would be active and probably both would play, with the more effective back getting more work. Since it's not certain to be Samuels, no one should be breaking the waiver budget to add him.
But those with Conner can at least think about it, considering him the more explosive of the two backups. More versatile too; he was an H-back at North Carolina State, making an impact as both a runner and receiver, and scoring 45 total touchdowns his last three seasons.
So we'll see, but those with Conner should at least be thinking about adding one of these players as a possible handcuff. We're very close to being able to definitively say whether or not it will be Bell.
--Andy Richardson