James Conner says he will be ready Sunday, and Minkah Fitzpatrick gets a new jersey number

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense with Mason Rudolph at the helm is much different one quarterbacked by Ben Roethlisberger. Rudolph doesn’t have the experience yet of Roethlisberger, and the team will need to have a good ground game to not only keep the pass rush off Rudolph, but to also help the Steelers’ defense by keeping them on the sideline.

Long, time-consuming drives that result in touchdowns are the top priority for the Steelers offense moving forward. With that said, having a healthy James Conner in the backfield should make life a little easier for Rudolph in his first career NFL start.

Conner left the Week 2 game vs. the Seattle Seahawks with a knee injury, and when speaking to reporters Wednesday he said he should be good-to-go for the tilt with the San Francisco 49ers.

This from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN:

Wedensday is the Steelers’ first day or practice leading up to a Sunday game, and fans should prepare themselves to see Conner’s name as a non-participant, or a limited participant. Either way, Thursday and Friday’s injury report will be the one to keep an eye on regarding Conner’s overall availability for Sunday.

If Conner cannot play, it would be Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell Jr. getting the bulk of the carries for the Steelers.

There are some people, like BTSC’s Bryan Anthony Davis, who love jerseys, and jersey numbers. In fact, when the Steelers traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick I texted Bryan and Dave Schofield to ask what number they thought he would wear. They both said they assumed he would purchase Kam Kelly’s No. 29, considering he wore that number for the Miami Dolphins.

They were wrong.

Fitzpatrick’s first practice saw him donning the No. 39 jersey, a la ‘Fast’ Willie Parker. Check out the photo below:

So, if you are someone who collects jerseys, getting yourself a No. 39 Fitzpatrick jersey would at least be good for the next three seasons!

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers as they continue to prepare for the 49ers this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.