Page updated
Pittsburgh Steelers · 2026
Jaylen Warren injury: status and who’s next up
Week 3 injury report
QuestionableShoulder· Limited practice
Jaylen Warren is listed as questionable (shoulder) for Week 3. That designation means the team expects he is uncertain to play.
Next game: CIN at PIT, Sun, Sep 27, 1:00 PM EDT. Game-day inactives are posted about 90 minutes before kickoff and are the final word.
Week 3 report. Status last changed ; feed checked .
Who is next up if Jaylen Warren misses time?
Published next man up
Eli Heidenreich
Fact: Pittsburgh's Friday report (Sept 25, 3:45 PM ET) rules Rico Dowdle OUT with a toe injury after three straight non-participations, and lists Jaylen Warren as Questionable with a shoulder injury after three limited practices. Projection: with Dowdle ineligible for this game, rookie Eli Heidenreich is the only other running back on the active roster and would take handoffs if Warren cannot go, though he has been used primarily on special teams - a Sept 25 report (date-only) says Pittsburgh also expects to elevate practice-squad backs Travis Homer and Lew Nichols, so any Warren absence would be split among unproven bodies rather than producing a lead back. Heidenreich is free almost everywhere and is a true long shot: he needs Warren to be downgraded or to exit early to matter at all. Fullback Riley Nowakowski is the short-yardage alternative.
This is a shared backfield: the preferred stash is not a promise of all the replacement touches.
Full handcuff breakdown for Jaylen Warren
The rest of the room
Riley Nowakowski
fullback · score 30/100
Injury history
2024: preseason hamstring, then out Week 4 vs IND with a knee; knee and hamstring issues recurred through the year. 2025: knee left him limited in late September; brief ankle exit Week 11 vs CIN with no absence. 2026: shoulder injury - limited participant Wed/Thu/Fri (Sept 23-25) and listed questionable for Week 3 vs CIN. Not ruled out; no return timetable stated.
A scouting summary of past injuries, not a prediction. How history ratings work.
Backfield analysis published .
Jaylen Warren on the 2026 injury report
| Week | Game status | Injury | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 3 | Questionable | Shoulder | Limited practice |
Each row is the last status the team reported for that week. Weeks without a row mean he was not on the report. Source: official NFL weekly injury reports, as published in the nflverse data release.
The production behind the names
2026 regular season. Recorded production, not a projection. A missing stat line is not a zero.
| Player | Games with stats | Carries | Receptions | Total yards | PPR / game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 21 | 7 | 150 | 10.0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Carries + receptions, last 2 recorded games in 2026
Carries + receptions, last 2 recorded games in 2026
Totals include all teams played for that season. Per-game averages use games with recorded stats. Source: nflverse player statistics.
See every running back on this week’s injury report, or compare handcuffs for every starter. Statuses come from team reports and do not establish game-day availability.
Know before kickoff.
Free emails before every game window, plus an update when game-day inactives change the plan.