Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris Reveals He's Been Hampered by Foot Injury
Najee Harris hasn't been healthy since early in training camp.
The Steelers' workhorse running back has been dealing with a Lisfranc sprain foot injury, suffered when someone stepped on his foot during the first padded practice. Harris believes he's on track to be 100% by Week 1, but revealed following Sunday's preseason finale that the recovery process has been slow.
"That is why I was out the majority of camp," Harris said via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I'm just now getting over it."
Only Jonathan Taylor of the Colts had more carries (332) than Harris (307) last season, and the Steelers sophomore is expected to carry a heavy workload again in 2022.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin elected to play some of his starters during Sunday's 19-9 victory over the Lions and Pittsburgh had several injury scares. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt (knee) and wide receiver Diontae Johnson (shoulder) left the game with injuries, but Head Coach Mike Tomlin said neither was serious.
"Maybe they could've come back into the game had it been different circumstances," Tomlin said via the team’s website.
The most serious Steelers injury was to backup safety Damontae Kazee, who will reportedly be placed on injured reserve with an arm/wrist injury.
Cincinnati Bengals: Dax Hill Will Play Significant Role on Defense
The Bengals still have major plans for rookie safety Dax Hill, brother of Ravens running back Justice Hill, even after veteran safety Jessie Bates ended his holdout last week.
Hill was the 31st-overall pick in the draft, and like Ravens rookie Kyle Hamilton, Hill is an athletic safety who can play different levels of the defense. The Bengals envision Hill roaming around the field playing in the slot, near the line of scrimmage or on the back end, teaming with Bates and Vonn Bell when the Bengals want to utilize three-safety packages.
"He's got really good speed, quickness … those are some of the things that have really shown off," Head Coach Zac Taylor said via the team’s website. "Now it's about plugging him into the system as Jessie is coming in and playing every snap as the free safety, finding the right role for him. I know that we'll be able to do that."
Hill said he is already bonding with Bates, who will play this season under the franchise tag.
"Cool guy," said Hill. "He just told me just go out there and do my thing and have fun out there.
"He gave me words of advice. He's here to help me out. He's been loving the way I've been playing. He said, 'Just keep up the good work.'"
Cleveland Browns: Defensive End Chris Odom Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Defensive end Chris Odom, who was named USFL Defensive Player of the Year this summer, suffered a season-ending torn ACL in the Browns' preseason finale, Head Coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed.
Odom was signed in August and played with Cleveland All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett in high school. Odom had 12.5 sacks this year playing for the USFL's Houston Gamblers, and the Browns liked his potential to be a situational pass rusher.
"(Odom) was doing a really nice job," Stefanski said via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "Was a very, very good pass rusher. Had a knack for it. Did a nice job in practice. Had some good moments in these preseason games. Very, very disappointed for him.
"We talked about it last night -- injuries are a very, very unfortunate part of this game that we play and coach, and we hate to see guys lose a year."
