On Tuesday, a flurry of NFL players announced that they would be opting out of the 2020 NFL season due to concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Several of these players are considered "high-risk" due to underlying conditions -- such as New England Patriots right tackle Marcus Cannon -- who is a cancer survivor. Not all high-risk players will be opting out this season, however, as the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday afternoon that Pittsburgh Steelers running back and cancer survivor James Conner would be suiting up in 2020, and is in phenomenal shape.
The former Pittsburgh star was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in college, but has now spent the last four years cancer-free. Conner is entering a contract year, and previously expressed that he wasn't too worried about contracting the coronavirus.
"It honestly, truly doesn't (concern me)," Conner said on The Adam Schefter Podcast. "I'm going on four years now. Just talking with my doctor, he said you got nothing to worry about as far as your immune system. I'm far removed form that, my body is healed. I have no concerns with that. I'm keeping distant and doing all that."
While Conner broke out in a big way thanks to Le'Veon Bell's holdout in 2018, he appeared to take a step backwards in 2019. In 10 games, he rushed for just 464 yards and four touchdowns while averaging a career-low 4.0 yards per carry. Conner had to battle multiple injuries as the Steelers overall suffered through a tough season, but there are other reasons Conner should watch his back this upcoming year. Head coach Mike Tomlin has been beefing up his running back room, as other younger players such as Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell Jr. are continuing to compete for touches. The Steelers even went out and drafted former Maryland star Anthony McFarland Jr. and signed veteran Wendell Smallwood this week.
Despite all of this competition in what is arguably one of the most loaded backfields in the NFL, Conner says that he's not concerned about his future, and wants to remain in Pittsburgh.
"It will be hard to put another helmet on, just because of everything and what this city means to me," Conner said. "This city I played my college ball in, had my life saved, the city I got drafted to -- and I want to be able to say it's the city I brought a championship to. I'm Pittsburgh through and through. I'm going to end up doing what I'm doing and end up where I'm supposed to be at. We'll take it one day at a time and stay in the moment."
