Former Steelers RB James Conner Will be ‘Heavily Used’ in Arizona

James Conner’s time in Pittsburgh might be over, but the former WPIAL and Pitt product seems to have a noteworthy role with his new team: the Arizona Cardinals.

Josh Weinfuss of ESPN joined Michael Florio of the NFL Network and informed him that Conner will likely be used in short-yardage and goal-line situations. 

We are joined by #Cardinals reporter @joshweinfuss now – he says Chase Edmonds will not be an every down back as James Conner will be heavily used

He says short yard and goal line work could go to Conner

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) August 9, 2021

Edmonds is entering his fourth season with the Cardinals and finished third in rushing behind Kenyan Drake, now a Las Vegas Raider, and quarterback Kyler Murray in 2020 with 448 yards. Conner spent his first four seasons in Pittsburgh and totaled 2,302 yards in addition to scoring 22 rushing touchdowns.  

Sharing time with other backs is not a foreign subject to Conner, who saw Benny Snell and Jaylen Samuels regularly get carries while in Pittsburgh. His injury history may have contributed to that being the case to some degree, but Conner will be no stranger to the concept of sharing time, regardless.

Conner signed with Arizona on April 13 of this year after hitting free agency for the first time in his career.