LATROBE, Pa. — Steeler nation took a collective sigh of relief Thursday afternoon when James Conner said the sprain of his A.C. joint is “nothing serious” and hopes to play in the preseason opener Aug. 11 against the New York Giants.
Conner said he knew right away when he hurt his shoulder during Sunday’s practice, the first padded practice of training camp. The rookie running back was taken to a Pittsburgh area hospital for evaluation and returned to Latrobe Monday evening with his left arm in a sling.
The Steelers drafted Conner in the third round of the NFL draft, hoping to provide depth behind starter Le’Veon Bell, who has yet to report to camp. Conner was back on the field Thursday morning, but not in pads and will continue to do so until his shoulder improves.
“I’ve been trying to keep up with mental reps,” Conner said. “Nothing comes close to the practice experience, but you can get pretty close with the mental reps.”
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“Ice, range of motion,” Conner explained was part of his rehab. “Time, really.”
In the meantime, the Steelers will continue to work out other players, such as Fitzgerald Toussaint, Knile Davis and a few other hopefuls.