Cancer survivor James Conner never considered opting out of Steelers' 2020 season
Given his medical history, James Conner had every reason to be wary about playing football as a high-risk candidate to contract covid-19.
As a cancer survivor, Conner had perhaps the best reason of any NFL player for wanting to opt out of the 2020 season.
Conner didn’t waver in his resolve during preparations for his fourth year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And the 25-year-old running back has never second-guessed his decision to spend this season with his teammates — even with nearly 70 players around the NFL deciding to skip the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was excited to get back here around my teammates and be around football again,” Conner said Wednesday in a video conference call with reporters. “I still haven’t thought about it. There was no question I would play this year.”
Training camp began July 28, and players had until Aug. 6 to inform the NFL of a decision to opt out of the season while receiving a stipend toward their 2021 salary. The Steelers were one of three NFL teams that didn’t have a player opt out.
A free agent in 2021, Conner said he never weighed the pros and cons with family members about whether he should play. This despite Conner being diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2015 while he was recovering from a season-ending knee injury at Pitt.
Conner was declared free of cancer in May 2016, and he returned that fall to play his final season at Pitt. The Steelers chose Conner in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
“I’m going on four years removed from cancer,” Conner said. “I didn’t have to talk to my family. It never was a concern for me. I’ve been healthy for years now. It was an easy decision for me. Not much thought went into it. I wanted to play football. I’m healthy, and my immune system is back healthy. I’m ready.”
The team’s leading rusher in 2018 with 973 yards, Conner was slowed by thigh and shoulder injuries last season that kept him out of six games. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner is looking forward to having a healthy Conner on the field in 2020, and he never doubted Conner would play this season.
“Knowing his heart and where he’s at, and the kind of competitor he is, there never was a real thought in my head,” Faulkner said. “It’s never anything that was broached in a conversation we had. To be honest, I fully expected him to be a full participant. That’s just how he’s built.”
Since placing four players on the reserve/covid-19 list in the initial week of testing at training camp, the Steelers haven’t encountered any issues with the virus. Just one player, third-year running back Jaylen Samuels, remains on the list.
It is not known whether Samuels tested positive or is in quarantine because of coming into contact with someone who tested positive. Faulkner has maintained daily contact with Samuels to keep him abreast of what the running back has missed in daily workouts and, most importantly, to check on Samuels’ health.
“Any time missed and days of work missed isn’t necessarily a good thing,” Faulkner said. “But if you’re going to miss some time, it would be in the front end of this when it’s tempo down, walk-throughs, meetings and stuff like that.”
It remains to be seen whether Samuels will be at Heinz Field when the first padded practice takes place Monday. Conner, though, plans to be there to participate in the first contact drill of any kind since the end of the 2019 season eight months ago.
With only 14 days of hitting permitted and without the benefit of preseason games, Conner and the rest of the Steelers running backs will have to adjust to the abbreviated schedule leading up to the season.
“We’re not worried about it,” Conner said. “We’ll do the necessary things in practice to get ready. We’ll be smart about it. I know what it feels like to be in games and to get tackled and have contact. It’s the same for everybody so as long as we are professionals, we’ll be fine.”
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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