Rico Dowdle will not play for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4 Thursday Night Football. The running back has officially been ruled out because of a toe injury, leaving Pittsburgh without one of its key options in the backfield.
Dowdle did not practice during the week, making his absence increasingly likely ahead of the AFC North matchup. The short turnaround for Thursday Night Football also gives him limited time to recover, forcing the Steelers to prepare for the game without him.
His absence puts even more responsibility on Jaylen Warren, who is coming off a strong performance against the Cincinnati Bengals. Warren helped the Steelers establish a more effective running game, giving the offense balance and creating more opportunities for Aaron Rodgers.
Who will play at RB today for Steelers vs Browns?
With Rico Dowdle unavailable, Jaylen Warren is expected to handle the majority of the workload against Cleveland. The Steelers will look to build on the offensive balance they found against Cincinnati, when Warren’s production on the ground helped open up the passing game for Rodgers.
Eli Heidenreich and Travis Homer are expected to provide depth behind Warren. Without Dowdle, Pittsburgh could lean heavily on its RB1, particularly if the Steelers want to establish the running game early and control the pace of the divisional matchup.
The Steelers and Browns enter Thursday night with identical 2-1 records, making the AFC North matchup particularly important. Pittsburgh will also be dealing with several personnel questions, including Jalen Ramsey’s status after suffering a broken wrist against Cincinnati.
For Dowdle, the Steelers will hope the toe injury does not become a long-term issue. For now, however, he is officially out against Cleveland, leaving Warren as the centerpiece of Pittsburgh’s backfield for Thursday Night Football.
Key takeaways
- Rico Dowdle is ruled out against Cleveland due to a toe injury.
- Jaylen Warren is expected to handle the majority of Pittsburgh’s backfield workload.
- Both teams enter the Thursday Night Football game with 2-1 records.
