Return to health by 3 skill players could benefit Steelers in 2020

The Pittsburgh Steelers expect a healthy Ben Roethlisberger to cure many – but not all — of the offensive problems that plagued the team in 2019.

The NFL Draft can address other weaknesses, and general manager Kevin Colbert isn’t discounting a return to health by three of the Steelers’ top skill position players.

Injuries to running back James Conner, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Vance McDonald also contributed to the Steelers having one of their worst offensive seasons in franchise history.

With those three skill position players missing a combined 12 games to injury, the Steelers finished No. 29 in rushing, No. 31 in receiving and No. 27 in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game while finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Conner missed the most time among the trio, sitting out six games in three stretches of play. After rushing for 145 yards against Miami – his only 100-yard performance of the season – Conner missed two games with a shoulder injury. He returned Nov. 14 against Cleveland, then exited early after aggravating the injury, which kept him out for the next four games.

Conner played in two games, injuring his thigh in the penultimate week against the New York Jets, which forced him to sit out the season finale in Baltimore.

After finishing 27 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season in 2018, Conner rushed for just 464 yards.

“James Conner had a disappointing season in James Conner’s viewpoint and ours as well,” Colbert said last week.

Conner is entering the final season of his rookie contract and is unlikely to receive an extension in the summer. Even if the Steelers seek his replacement in the draft, Colbert thinks a healthy Conner can be a viable part of the offense in 2020. Conner has been working out at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex with former Pitt teammate Aaron Donald.

“He’s still a young player,” Colbert said. “We know there is talent there. We hope James can regain it, and if he’s healthy, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t.”

Conner, though, has missed games in all three of his NFL seasons, and Colbert termed those as acute.

“It’s not like it’s one injury that kept showing up,” he said. “He suffered different injuries at different times. I don’t think that is who James is. We hope he gets back to 2018 James.”

That viewpoint also can be applied to Smith-Schuster, whose production took a bigger hit than Conner’s. After making the Pro Bowl and catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards in 2019, Smith-Schuster slumped to 42 catches for 552 yards. He missed four games with a concussion and knee injuries, but for the first time in his three-year career he also played without Roethlisberger throwing him passes.

“When you’re playing with backup quarterbacks, your numbers may not be the same,” Colbert said. “When you’re playing with the backup, the backup is the starter and other folks have to pick it up and make up the ground.”

Like Conner, Smith-Schuster is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Given the numbers he produced in his first two seasons with Roethlisberger, Smith-Schuster could be in line to receive an extension.

McDonald is a different entity in that he is a seven-year veteran who is armed with a big salary. His contract contains a $5.5 million club option for 2020, and the Steelers could save another $900,000 in roster and workout bonuses if the option is not exercised.

McDonald caught 38 passes for 273 yards while appearing in 14 games, missing one with a shoulder injury and another with a concussion. It wasn’t the linear progression the Steelers envisioned after watching McDonald catch 50 passes for 610 yards in 2018.

“Vance was not unlike some of the guys that got nicked up and missed some time,” Colbert said. “When healthy, he’s been a productive NFL starter.”

The Steelers, though, don’t have another No. 1 tight end in waiting in the event McDonald is let go. Nick Vannett, acquired early in the season via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, is an unrestricted free agent and caught 13 passes in as many games with the Steelers.

Zach Gentry, a fifth-round pick in 2019, appeared in just four games as a rookie, catching one pass for four yards.

“We hope we can find a way to keep Nick in the mix,” Colbert said, “and I think Zach can be in the mix as well.”