Jaylen Warren injury update: Steelers running back talks about his status in Week 1

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren's status for Week 1 of the 2024 regular season has been uncertain since he suffered a hamstring injury in the second preseason game.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network initially reported that Warren would be out for “several weeks” due to his injury. Head coach Mike Tomlin recently gave an update, stating that Warren's injury is not a long-term issue.

Now we have an update directly from the Steelers running back, who spoke about his injury and status in Week 1. Steelers fans and fantasy football owners will be happy to know it was a positive update.

Latest information on Jaylen Warren's injury

“It's nothing serious,” Warren said of the hamstring issue, according to Chris Adamski of TribLive.com. “I would play, but you have to be careful. I'm fine. We're just looking at the point of the regular season now.”

When asked if there were concerns about whether he would be ready for the Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, September 8, Warren replied succinctly, “No.”

This is obviously great news for the Steelers, who need all hands on deck to begin their regular season. Warren will play a major role in this offense, as he is part of a 1A/1B situation at running back along with Najee Harris.

Warren is coming off the best season of his career, in which he played his biggest role on offense yet. While he still had fewer touches than Harris, he set career highs in touches (210), rushing yards (784) and receiving yards (370) while also appearing to be the more effective running back than Harris, as evidenced by Warren's 5.3 yards per touch to Harris' 4.1.

Harris is also entering the final year of his contract, so Warren could audition for the lead back job in 2025 when the former first-round pick enters free agency.