Outside of the necessitated response to the trade of Chase Claypool, the Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to make many changes in an effort to jumpstart their struggling offense. One possible such move, though, was not ruled out by coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday.

Asked point-blank during his weekly news conference on Tuesday if he would consider promoting undrafted rookie running back Jaylen Warren to a “featured back” role, Tomlin hinted it as a possibility.

“You know he’s a quality back that’s made some plays,” Tomlin said of Warren. “We’ll keep giving him an opportunity to do so, and maybe he’ll write that script.”

Warren was the only undrafted rookie to make the team, and he made it over veteran holdover Anthony McFarland and leapfrogged veteran holdover Benny Snell on the offensive depth chart. But overtaking Najee Harris as the starter and workhorse back? That would have been considered the longest of longshots, considering Harris’ status as the Steelers’ 2021 first-round pick and that he led the NFL in touches and snaps played by a running back last season.

Harris also is an offensive captain — the only one who’s been playing following the Week 4 benching of starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

• Tim Benz: Based on expectations, Najee Harris is Steelers' biggest disappointment at halfway mark • Numbers aren't adding up for Steelers' 2nd-year running back Najee Harris • Mark Madden: So many undeniable reasons for the Steelers' 2-6 record

Harris suffered a lisfranc foot injury early during training camp and revealed three weeks ago that he played the first month-plus of the regular season with a steel plate inserted into his shoe. Tomlin tacitly allowed Tuesday that the foot injury has affected Harris’ performance this season.

“To what degree, I don’t know,” Tomlin said. “He’s playing, so obviously he’s healthy enough to play. I’ll let him speak to that.

“But both guys (Harris and Warren) have been available to us. We’ve gotten some awesome contributions from Jaylen, and it’s reasonable to expect that to continue.”

Warren took over as the third-down back a month into the season, siphoning touches and snaps away from Harris.

Statistically, Warren has much better raw numbers than Harris. Warren is averaging 5.3 yards on his 29 carries, on average 2 more yards than Harris has in his 108 carries. Warren also has averaged 7.3 yards per catch; Harris, 4.7.

But Warren’s runs have been more likely to come in third-and-long situations where defenses aren’t defending the run and/or are content allowing a chunk of yardage that still brings up a fourth down. Warren similarly has gotten more playing time when games have been out of reach late, again, resulting in a defense that is more indifferent to allowing yardage.

Harris averaged 3.9 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per reception last season.

The subjective grading by Pro Football Focus evaluates Harris and Warren similarly. Warren has a 63.2 overall and 64.4 run grade; Harris is 61.1 overall and 62.8 run. Neither rank among the top 40 in either category among the 60 NFL running backs who have gotten the most carries.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)