Steelers RB Najee Harris cleared to play Sunday vs. Falcons
When Monday’s Pittsburgh Steelers victory at the Indianapolis Colts ended, Najee Harris wasn’t on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium but instead was at a local hospital.
When the Steelers’ next game kicks off, Harris said Friday he will be in uniform and standing on the turf at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Yeah, I am cleared,” the Steelers’ workhorse running back said after Friday’s practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Less than two hours after he spoke with media, official word via the league-mandated injury report tacitly declared with no ambiguity that Harris will play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
“I felt good; (Friday was the) first day (this week) of doing (team drills),” Harris said. “Just getting back to the movements and moving around, I felt good.”
Harris isn’t sure, exactly, when or how he suffered the oblique injury that prevented him from playing after the second quarter of the 24-17 victory in Indianapolis. But he said a week of treatment from the Steelers training and medical staffs, in addition to two days off from practice, allowed him to heal up as much as possible.
“I didn’t even get tackled when I first starting feeling it,” Harris said. “I got a bounce, and the pain just kept getting bigger and bigger — and then I had to go to the hospital.”
Harris was as productive as he’s been all season in the 2½ games before the injury. In the 10 quarters since the Steelers’ bye, Harris had 224 rushing yards on 50 carries (4.5 average) in addition to five catches for 30 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
In his stead and with usual No. 2 RB Jaylen Warren out against the Colts, Benny Snell and practice-squad call-up Anthony McFarland filled in and combined for 109 yards from scrimmage and a Snell touchdown on 21 combined touches.
“I think that shows how good our (position) room is,” Harris said.
Warren was a full practice participant all week after missing 1½ games because of a hamstring injury. Though he publicly declared he would play against the Falcons, the injury report listed him — officially — as questionable.
An addition to the injury report Thursday, Snell (knee) practiced fully Friday and will play in Atlanta.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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