RK Jaylen Warren has finally spoken out — and his message about his touches and snap count just sent a ripple through Steelers Nation.
Pundits, fans and even quarterback Aaron Rodgers have called for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren to receive more touches. But if Warren feels the same way, he’s not letting the public know.
Warren addressed his role in the Steelers offense in front of reporters Friday, two days prior to the team meeting the Cincinnati Bengals in a critical rematch. Warren made clear he aims to maximize the opportunities he gets, not hoping for more.
“I just make sure that every and any play I am in for that I make some shake,” Warren told reporters, via Triblive.com’s Chris Adamski. “I don’t like to calculate how many plays I’m out of a game; I just know that if I’m in on
this play, I’m focused on that play.”
Warren has posted 474 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground while playing 270 offensive snaps this season. Warren also has registered 23 catches for 214 yards with another score in the passing game.
The veteran leads Steelers running backs in snaps. While missing one game this season, he has played 52.12% of the team’s offensive snaps in 2025.
Kenneth Gainwell is second among Steelers running backs with 227 offensive snaps. That’s 43.82% of the team’s snaps on offense.
Will Jaylen Warren Get More Touches in Week 11?
Coming into the season, pundits expected the Steelers to be a “ground and pound” offense. But that hasn’t exactly been the team’s formula in the first half of the 2025 regular season.
While the Steelers are 26th in pass attempts, they are also just 29th in rushing attempts. Pittsburgh is also 29th in yards per carry and 30th in total rushing yards.
One of the issues is the Steelers just simply aren’t running enough plays on offense overall. The team is last in the NFL in offensive plays at 495 in nine games.
There’s not a lot of touches to go around for any of Pittsburgh’s offensive weapons. Still, Rodgers has stressed Warren needs the ball more.
“[Warren]’s a talented guy, and we got to give him more touches,” Rodgers told the media after the team’s Week 10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
How Do the Steelers Get Warren More Touches?
It’s easy to state Warren needs the ball more. How the Steelers do that is more complicated.
No one has touched the ball more than Warren for Pittsburgh this season, and yet, the Steelers arguably have one of the worst offenses in the league. One could argue the running back is a big reason why the Steelers aren’t running with more efficiency or posting more yards.
Head coach Mike Tomlin, though, put it in simple terms while speaking to reporters Tuesday. If the Steelers can convert more third downs, then Warren will get more opportunities.
The Steelers were 2-for-11 on third down in Week 10. They are also 7-for-33 (21.2%) on third down over the past three games.
“We win more third downs, we’ll get Jaylen [Warren] more touches,” Tomlin told reporters Tuesday. “It’s as simple as that.
“Jaylen was having the trajectory of a good day in LA, but we didn’t convert enough third downs for you to really, really feel it.”
Warren averaged five yards per carry against the Chargers but only had 14 attempts because the team was behind the entire second half.
The good news is Warren could be in line for a big Sunday. His best game of the season was against Pittsburgh’s Week 11 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals.
During Week 7, Warren posted 127 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry versus the Bengals.
Ravens Add 6-foot-5, 291-Pound Former First Round Pick to Defense
The whole point of having a practice squad is stashing players there until you need them in an emergency and, if they prove they deserve it, when the time comes they get a full-time job.
The time has come for defensive tackle and former first round pick Taven Bryan, who the Baltimore Ravens announced was joining their 53-man roster on Saturday, November 15, after they signed him to the practice squad on September 24.
Bryan has been something of a good luck charm for the Ravens. He’s been on the active roster for the last 3 regular season gams — all Baltimore wins. The Ravens have bounced back from a 1-5 start and are now 4-5 headed into a Week 11 AFC North Division road game against the Cleveland Browns.
“We have placed LB Jay Higgins IV on Injured Reserve and signed DT Taven Bryan from the practice squad to the 53-man roster,” the Ravens wrote on their official X account. “Additionally, we have activated LB Chandler Martin and DB Amani Oruwariye from the practice squad (standard elevations) for tomorrow’s game.”
Bryan First Round Bust in AFC South
Bryan, 6-foot-5 and 291 pounds, was a first round pick (No. 29 overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2018 NFL draft out of the University of Florida.
Bryan signed a 4-year, $10.15 million rookie contract and became a free agent after the 2021 season. He played for the Browns on 1 -year, $4 million contract, then played 2 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 and 2024. He was cut by the Cincinnati Bengals in August before landing with the Ravens.
There’s some irony with Bryan ending up with the Ravens. He’s perhaps best known for being one of the last few picks to go off the board before Baltimore selected 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson with the final pick of the first round — just 3 picks after Bryan was selected.
“Former general manager Dave Caldwell’s stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars was marred with baffling decisions,” Black & Teal’s Carlos Sanchez wrote in July. “One of the worst ones probably was picking Taven Bryan over Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft … But instead of the best passer available at that moment, Caldwell chose to fortify the defensive trenches. Fast forward to 2025, and Jackson is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, while Bryan’s career is hanging by a thread.”
Ravens Suffered Massive Blow on Interior DL
The Ravens lost one of the NFL’s elite defensive linemen when NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike suffered a season ending — hopefully not career ending — neck injury in Week 2.
Baltimore also let the NFL trade deadline pass without making a move to shore up the position, which is perhaps a testament to how well veteran Travis Jones has played as well as the depth a player like Bryan has supplied.
That doesn’t mean it might not still come back to bite the Ravens later.
From Bleacher Report: “The Ravens took a significant loss when they placed two-time Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike on injured reserve. Baltimore fields the 21st-ranked run defense, giving up 4.5 yards per carry, which ranks 22nd across the league. Without Madubuike, the Ravens don’t have enough beef up front to slow down physical ground attacks, which may become a problem as temperatures drop in cold-weather November and December games. They needed an addition on the interior of the defensive line.”
