Steelers A to Z: Super Bowl champ Kenneth Gainwell brings experience in role to RB room

Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

RB KENNETH GAINWELL

Experience/age: fifth season, 26

Contract status: $1.79 million cap hit in 2025 on one-year deal signed in March

The past: Gainwell had a brief but highly productive college career, amassing more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 16 touchdowns in 14 games as a redshirt freshman at Memphis in 2019. Because he had redshirted the year before (appearing in four games) and opted out of the 2020 covid season, he was able to declare for the 2021 NFL draft. The Philadelphia Eagles took him in the fifth round. For the most part over the four seasons since, Gainwell had a limited but significant role in what was one of the highest-profile offenses in the NFL. Typically Philadelphia’s third-down back, Gainwell had 102 catches for 721 yards in addition to 1,185 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns from scrimmage over 66 games.

Though Gainwell never was considered the Eagles’ “workhorse” back, he played roughly one-third of the Eagles’ offensive snaps over the past four regular seasons and roughly 30% of their snaps over the past four postseasons. Gainwell played in two Super Bowls, his Eagles winning the most recent one in February.

New RB Kenneth Gainwell on assisting to the Steelers after 4 seasons with the Eagles pic.twitter.com/6X2ktOdO5e

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 29, 2025

2025 outlook: Signed to a one-year contract early in free agency, Gainwell has the resume of a perfect third-down complement to a starting running back. What makes Gainwell’s 2025 role murky, though, is that despite the Steelers letting four-year featured back Najee Harris leave in free agency, they kept reigning third-down back Jaylen Warren. Warren even earned a raise — but thoughts that he might take over first- and second-down duties were complicated when the Steelers selected Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson in the third round.

Early returns over the summer suggest that Johnson might be ready for a significant role in the offense. Warren isn’t making more than $5 million this season to watch. So where does that leave Gainwell? That will be decided during training camp and the preseason. Odds are, Gainwell will maintain a role on passing downs — his track record as a receiver out of the backfield and in pass blocking is too good not to. But that also is Warren’s strength. A lot might depend on Johnson’s development. It will be interesting to see how much Gainwell is used in 2025.