Steelers New Offensive Weapon Has "Nagging Injury" To Keep An Eye On

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been dealing with all kinds of injuries to start training camp and the preseason. In a walk-through after the team's first exhibition matchup, there were four wide receivers and three defensive backs missing from practice due to some sort of ailment, and that's not even including the three cornerbacks who are currently on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. It's not as bad as it has been in recent years, but there are still a lot of legitimate concerns, especially with the lack of information coming out about each player. 

The Steelers have been trying to remain tight-lipped on all of these issues. They've done it so much so that Gerry Dulac announced another injury to a key Steelers player while making an appearance on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette YouTube channel. While he could not give a lot of information, what little bit he was able to say is very concerning.

"Rico Dowdle is fighting some little nagging injury, and he didn't want to play [in the preseason game against the Green Bay Packers]," Dulac said.

The good news is that Rico Dowdle had the option to try and tough this mystery injury out, which shows that it's likely not too severe. On top of that, he was seen during walk-throughs; although, his usage in practice will be a better indicator of what exactly is going on. Hopefully he will be able to heal up sooner rather than later and at least be ready for the regular season.

The bad news is that Dulac called it "nagging." That usually doesn't mean that the pain will just disappear in a few days. That term is commonly used for soft-tissue injuries that can linger throughout the season, but there is no confirmation that this is the case here. Either way, there is no need for Pittsburgh to rush him back onto the field and make it more than just something that is annoying to deal with. 

At the end of the day, Dowdle knows Mike McCarthy's system, and the Steelers already have a reliable starting running back in Jaylen Warren. The season also doesn't start for another few weeks. If it takes until September for it to stop nagging, then it's not a problem if he has to sit and wait until then. If he doesn't get enough recovery in, this injury could both him for the entire season, and truly limit him. 

Steelers Have Intriguing Battle That Can Get Put Into The Spotlight Now

With Dowdle missing time, the Steelers can put a stronger focus on the battle for the last running back spot on the 53-man roster. There was not a lot of expectations for that to be a big deal, but Thursday night's game proved otherwise, as the snaps that were taken in Dowdle's place were very noteworthy, even though the running game did not do very well. 

The starting running back for that game was Travis Homer, who is also a potential special teams ace. He was followed by Lew Nichols, who had the most carries in the game by any Steelers running back. Former third-round pick Kaleb Johnson, who was expected to take that depth chart spot, barely got any playing time. He had just two carries for three yards. Even Eli Heidenreich had  more carries in the contest. 

If this nagging injury for Dowdle does leak into the regular season, then one or more of these aforementioned names will get significant playing time on offense for whenever Warren needs a breather. As of now, Homer and Nichols seem to be the top options to take that final spot, and it seems like Johnson's short stint in Pittsburgh has already come to a close.

What do you think about Dowdle's nagging injury? DO you think it will be a problem moving forward or no? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

#SteelerNation