Rico Dowdle revealed new details about the toe injury that has sidelined him for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ past two games. The running back said he dislocated the same toe twice during Pittsburgh’s Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots.
According to Will Graves of the Associated Press, Dowdle said the toe was popped back into place after the first dislocation. He convinced the doctors he could return, but the toe popped out again after he went back into the game.
Dowdle said the tissue around the joint now needs time to heal. He also described the injury as feeling like he had “knots in the bottom of my feet.”
Dowdle has not played since that Week 2 loss. He missed Pittsburgh’s Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns, leaving Jaylen Warren to handle most of the backfield workload.
Warren has responded with 309 rushing yards on 55 carries through four games, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt. He also has 13 receptions for 143 yards, including a 127-yard rushing performance against Cincinnati and 93 yards against Cleveland.
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Dowdle has 37 rushing yards on 15 carries this season, along with four receptions for 28 yards. Before the injury, he averaged just 2.5 yards per carry, but Pittsburgh signed him to a two-year contract after he posted consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024 and Carolina Panthers in 2025.
The Steelers enter Week 5 at 2-2 after Thursday’s 27-24 loss to Cleveland. That leaves Pittsburgh fourth in the AFC North behind the 3-1 Browns and Baltimore Ravens and the 2-2 Bengals.
Pittsburgh is scheduled to face the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 11. Dowdle’s status for that game remains unclear, but his latest comments make clear that allowing the toe to heal is the immediate priority.
