James Conner to Have Surgery for Knee Injury; to Be Placed on IR

Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner suffered a knee injury in Sunday's game against the New England Patriots and will undergo surgery.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday, adding Conner will go on injured reserve. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network first reported the news on Monday.

The rookie has 144 rushing yards on the season, although the Steelers will have to look further down their depth chart to overcome the latest injury.

Le'Veon Bell will remain the clear go-to option in the offense, but Fitzgerald Toussaint should now gain a bigger role in the ground game. While there is concern about Conner's development, Toussaint should be able to succeed behind one of the league's best offensive lines.

Conner was a third-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, completing an inspiring journey to the NFL after being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2015. Despite the obstacles he had to overcome, he wanted to focus on the next step.

"There's no emotion (about) being a cancer survivor and everything," he said at the start of training camp, per Will Graves of the Associated Press. "I'm a good football player. All the emotional part, 'Oh wow, I'm in the NFL,' that's all behind me."