James Conner has only known playing football for the City of Pittsburgh. He has always been a Pennsylvania Native. Conner played for McDowell High School in Erie, Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh in College, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. It would be very hard to see Conner play for a different city going forward.
Conner has had a great story beating Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He played pretty well as a backup running back when he was drafted by the Steelers in the third round, but when he became a starter that is when things started going downhill.
The reason why things went downhill for Conner was that he couldn't stay healthy. Conner played 14 games in 2017, 13 games in 2018, 10 games in 2019, and 13 games in 2021. In 4 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers Conner has not played a full season without being injured. Even the website Sports Injury Predictor has it estimated at 89% for Conner being injured in 2021 with a 12.9% chance of injury per game.
In 4 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has posted decent numbers. 2018 was his best year with the Steelers by far. He rushed for 215 yards, 973 rushing yards, and 12 touchdowns. His career numbers in Pittsburgh are 50 games played, 532 rushes, 2,302 rushing yards, and 22 touchdowns. The numbers are not as bad as many people make it out to be.
With all of that being said there are only two options left for James Conner and the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. Sign him to a friendly contract or cut your ties with him. The only way I'd bring James Conner back is on a friendly contract, telling him he is going to be a backup in Pittsburgh, and it is a short-term contract. Then once signed I would draft a running back in the 2021 NFL draft who can be a starter. The next option is to let Conner move on and let him play for another city for the first time in his football career.
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