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Steelers Activate RB James Conner from COVID-19 Reserve List

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The Steelers have activated running back James Conner from the COVID-19 reserve list, the team announced on Wednesday.

Conner missed each of the team’s last two games after reportedly testing positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

He was placed on the list on Nov. 28 and was eligible to be activated on Monday, but the team chose not to play him against Washington after having not practiced in 10 days.

Conner has started nine games for the Steelers this season and leads the team’s backfield in yards with 645, rushing average at 4.4 yards per carry and touchdowns with five.

Without Conner in the lineup against Baltimore and Washington, the Steelers gained a total of just 89 yards rushing, the team’s worst two-week output of the season.

Second-year back Benny Snell Jr. started in place of Conner and earned praise for his performance against Baltimore from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Snell had 60 yards on 16 carries in that game and helped the Pittsburgh offense ice the victory.

But against Washington, the Steelers’ running game was completely shut down. Snell had five yards on eight carries for a minuscule 0.6 yards per carry and the team as a whole had just 21 rushing yards, their third-lowest modern era total.