HH. BREAKING: Steelers locker room stunned — a player showed up late, not out of disrespect… but because real life called louder than football.

Pittsburgh, PA – November 1, 2025 – Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren arrived 45 minutes late to Saturday’s walkthrough. The reason? A red-eye flight from Oklahoma after spending Halloween night trick-or-treating with a 12-year-old boy he met two years ago at a community food drive—a child who lost both parents to a house fire in 2023.

Warren, 27, left Pittsburgh Friday evening without telling coaches. He landed in Oklahoma City at 3 a.m., picked up the boy—whom he calls “LJ”—and spent the night handing out candy in Clinton, OK, the same small town where Warren grew up in a trailer with his single mom and three siblings.

“LJ asked if I’d be his big brother for Halloween. I wasn’t missing that,” Warren said quietly after practice, still wearing a faint smear of face paint on his wrist.

Head coach Mike Tomlin had initially planned a standard fine—$15,000 for an unexcused absence. But when Warren explained, Tomlin waved it off.

“Tell the business office to stand down,” Tomlin told reporters. “Some things are bigger than football. Jaylen’s one of the good ones.”

The story began in 2023 when Warren’s Jaylen’s Way Foundation hosted a back-to-school giveaway. LJ, then 10, showed up alone with a social worker. Warren gave him cleats, a backpack—and his phone number. 

This Halloween was the first since the boy entered foster care. Warren dressed as a pirate; LJ went as a mini-Steeler. Photos circulating on X show the two high-fiving under porch lights, Warren’s 5’8” frame towering protectively.

Teammates weren’t surprised. “That’s just Jay,” said TJ Watt. “He’ll block a linebacker with the same heart he uses to block for kids who don’t have anybody.”

Warren, an undrafted success story who’s rushed for over 1,200 yards in his career, is in a contract year. But money isn’t what drives him.

“I know what it’s like to have nothing,” he said. “If I can give one kid a night where he forgets that—just one—then I’m good.”

Bears Star Learned After Game That Grandfather Suffered Heart Attack Before Kickoff — Family Hid News So He Could Play

Chicago, IL – October 14, 2025 — Under the bright Monday night lights, Chicago was alive with noise — the Bears clawed back from behind, the crowd roared, and Devin Duvernay stood at the center of it all. Yet behind his smile, behind the cheers, a storm was waiting to break. Hours before kickoff, his grandfather had suffered a massive heart attack back home in Houston. His family knew — but chose not to tell him. Not yet. Not until after the final whistle.

For Duvernay, the night began like any other — warmups, laughter, focus, faith. But as fate would have it, the game that showcased his fire also tested the strength of his heart. He pointed to the sky in celebration — not knowing the weight that gesture would soon carry.

After the game, during a raw and emotional interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters, the joy faded into shock.

“I didn’t know my grandfather was in the hospital before the game,” Duvernay said, voice trembling amid the locker room noise. “I celebrated that touchdown with joy, but now it feels so different. I just pray he pulls through — he’s been pulling for me every Sunday, and now it’s my turn to pull for him.”

The words cut through the noise — suddenly, the scoreboard didn’t matter. What mattered was family.

According to relatives, the 79-year-old patriarch had collapsed early Sunday morning in Houston, where he’s long been known as “the mailman who never missed a Bears game.” Paramedics rushed him to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery. “We didn’t want to distract Devin,” a family member told NFL Network. “His grandfather would’ve said, ‘Play your game. Don’t you dare sit out.’ That’s the kind of man he is.”

Head coach Ben Johnson kept his words brief, but they carried weight:

“Devin’s a warrior — on and off the field. He didn’t just play for the Bears tonight. He played for something bigger.”

Williams, who threw the pivotal touchdown, wrapped his receiver in an embrace as cameras turned away.

“Family comes first, man,” the rookie said quietly. “That score was for him.”

By early Tuesday morning, doctors reported that Duvernay’s grandfather was in stable condition — a small victory in a week full of bruises. Duvernay immediately flew to Houston, skipping media duties to be with his family. The Bears organization followed with a donation to the American Heart Association, a gesture that turned a night of football into something more enduring.

Across social media, fans rallied around him under the tag #PrayForDuvernaysGrandpa — a wave of compassion cutting through the usual chaos of the NFL timeline. One post read simply: “He plays with heart. Now we play for his.”

For a city that’s known hardship, Chicago saw itself in Duvernay — strong, loyal, unbreakable.

This wasn’t just football. This was family. This was heart.