Team news: Pittsburgh Steelers | Page 13

Tyler Lockett has missed more than two weeks with a leg injury, but the Seahawks receiver insists he will play in Sunday’s season opener.

“Unless you know something I don’t,” Lockett said.

Related players: DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Lockett, who was wearing a strap over his left knee Monday, did not play in the preseason and is unconcerned about his limited reps in training camp in a new offense. He called his absence precautionary, the story went on to say. Lockett is behind Metcalf, at least, on the Seahawks depth chart. The development of JSN will be something to watch this year as he could earn the targets to take over the WR2 role. We do rank JSN slightly ahead of Lockett on our WR list.

Steelers RB Jaylen Warren (hamstring) said he did individuals and special teams work in practice today, and he anticipates joining team periods on Wednesday.

He said he'll be good to go for the season opener Sunday.

Related players: Najee Harris

Warren should find himself complementing Harris, taking on change of pace and third down and passing duties. Warren (RB24) finished two spots ahead of Harris (RB26), and if we just look at the back half of the season, Warren was the fantasy RB19 from Week 10 to Week 18. His touches increased from 10.6 to 13.9 when comparing the first half of the season to the second half. That increased workload may or may not carry over now that there’s a new offensive coordinator (Arthur Smith) in town. Smith is known to use his players in frustrating ways from a fantasy perspective. Interestingly, Warren’s increased usage did not come at Harris’s expense. Harris saw his touches increase from 14.4 to 18.8 from the first half to the second half of the season. (Harris/Warren combined to average 25.0 touches from Week 1 to Week 8 compared to 32.7 touches from Week 9 to Week 18, so Pittsburgh was much more RB-oriented in the back half of the season.) The Steelers figure to be very run-heavy under Smith so there should be room for both Warren and Harris in 15+ touch roles.

A bit of a shocker: Panthers are releasing WR Terrace Marshall.

Related players: Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo

Some who follow the team thought Marshall was having a good camp and potentially turning things around for himself. But, the Panthers paid a lot of attention to the WR position the last couple of years. They traded for Johnson this spring after signing Thielen the previous year. Also this spring, they drafted Legette at the end of the first round, after selecting Mingo the previous season, that left Marshall buried down the depth chart.

Titans are sending QB Malik Willis to the Packers in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick, per sources.

Related players: Sean Clifford, Mason Rudolph, Jordan Love, Will Levis

Willis is now likely to back up Love while the move pushes Clifford out as the Packers QB2. In Tennessee, Rudolph looks to be the Titans QB2 behind Levis.

Jaylen Warren says he expects to play Week 1 against the Falcons.

Related players: Najee Harris, Cordarrelle Patterson

Warren says his hamstring is feeling much better. Owners will still want to hear this team from HC Mike Tomlin or from the team before counting on Warren in Week 1. However, it's good news he feels he's trending in the right direction. Warren should continue to have a role, but still share time with Harris in the Steelers offense. The addition of Patterson could complicate things in terms of fantasy, especially in terms of pass catching and third down work.

Bills HC Sean McDermott said there is optimism both WR Curtis Samuel and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling could get back for Week 1, but he did not want to commit all the way to it because all injury situations are still "murky" at the moment.

Related Players: Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, KJ Hamler

This WR room doesn't need any more setbacks, so let's hope that they're both ready to go for Week 1 as a rotational piece (Valdes-Scantling) and a do-it-all option (Samuel). In a fully healthy season, there would be a good chance that Samuel could lead the position group in targets.

Who emerges as the No. 2 running back? On the early downs, Trey Sermon probably needs to be viewed as the favorite there, although a hamstring injury in the preseason opener opened the door for some valuable practice reps to the likes of Evan Hull and Tyler Goodson. The overall running back depth chart remains very much “in pencil” with Jonathan Taylor the obvious bellcow.

There aren't a lot of household names behind Taylor. Even though Hull was a rookie last year who missed most of the season, it looks like Sermon could open up as the backup to Taylor. Given Taylor has had his share of injuries over his career, targeting his handcuff late in drafts may be a good idea.

Steelers RB Jaylen Warren is out multiple weeks with a hamstring injury.

His status for Week 1 against the Falcons is up in the air. Warren suffered the injury during Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.

Warren had a breakout season last year with over 1,000 total yards, including 61 receptions for 370 and averaged over five yards per carry. Najee Harris will step back into the lead role for the Steelers with a chance to prove himself after the team declined to pick up his fifth-year option this offseason. Cordarrelle Patterson will also be in the mix.

Bills WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling suffered a neck sprain during Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

X-rays were negative for MVS, a positive sign after the receiver left the game on a cart. His status for this week is uncertain. MVS is reportedly squarely on the roster bubble. It’s great to hear his injury isn’t that serious but time will tell if he is still on the team come roster cuts.

Steelers running back Jaylen Warren suffered a hamstring injury during Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and is doubtful to return.

Warren had three touches (including two receptions) for 15 yards before the injury occurred. If Warren misses any time, Najee Harris will have a chance to show he can still be a solid option for the Steelers after the team declined his fifth-year option earlier this offseason. We’ll update Warren’s status as more news comes out.