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Former Steelers RB Suffers Season-Ending Injury

The former Pittsburgh Steelers runner will end his year on IR.

Noah Strackbein

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) against the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) against the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner will end his 2024 season on Injured Reserve, being shut down by the Arizona Cardinals after suffering a knee injury.

Conner suffered the injury in Week 16 but battled through in Week 17. With the Cardinals being eliminated from the playoffs, they decided to shut him down and begin preparing for next season, placing the 29-year-old on IR for the final week of the season.

The former Steelers starter and Pitt star had a career-best season, rushing for 1,097 yards and eight touchdowns, and adding 414 receiving yards and a score to his stat line. He earned himself a three-year contract extension in the middle of the season, keeping him in Arizona long-term as their starting running back.

Conner was the Steelers' third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, becoming the starter in his second season with Le'Veon Bell holding out. He spent four years in Pittsburgh, totaling 2,302 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground.

Conner has found plenty of success since joining the Cardinals, spending the last four years there and claiming their starting job in the process. After leaving Pittsburgh, it was unknown if he'd be a team's bell-cow running back again, but proved himself in Arizona and has since developed into one of the NFL's most reliable runners.

With back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, the Cardinals will look to build their offense even more in 2025. With Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride and Conner, they'll believe they have the building blocks to do so.

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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