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When will Jaylen Warren return and play? Will Jaylen Warren be back again this season? Read the latest Jaylen Warren injury updates and return date for Week 5 (2025).
Pittsburgh Steelers' running back Jaylen Warren has been a relatively efficient runner, and there was much excitement about what he might do as the Steelers' lead back going into 2025.
With his effectiveness in the receiving game, Warren has averaged over 90 yards from scrimmage so far this season. Fantasy managers were surprised, however, to see Warren show up on the injury report (knee) in Week 4, resulting in his missing the game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are on bye in Week 5, but will Jaylen Warren be available after the bye for the Steelers' divisional showdown against the Cleveland Browns? Or will Warren miss more time? Let's dive in.
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Jaylen Warren Injury Update
Warren rushed for 47 yards on 18 carries and caught five passes for 34 yards against the New England Patriots in Week 3. While it was his worst game of the season from an efficiency standpoint, at just 2.6 yards per carry, his receiving volume was enough to put him at the RB19 for the week in PPR leagues.
It was surprising when Warren showed up on the Week 4 injury report. At first, his absence from practice was classified as rest. Only midweek did his knee get added to the injury report.
Jaylen Warren (knee) out early for warmups. He was listed as questionable but I’d imagine he’s good to go, but wearing a sleeve on his right leg. pic.twitter.com/dNGpedbRYm
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 28, 2025
Warren made the trip overseas, and his status was uncertain until the last minute. After being listed as questionable and warming up on the field, he ultimately missed Pittsburgh's 24-21 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
In his absence, Kenneth Gainwell took over the Steelers' backfield, running for 99 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Gainwell's big showing made him a waiver wire target going into Week 5. Third-round pick Kaleb Johnson ran the ball six times for just 22 yards, continuing to raise concerns about whether he might be a bust.
With the Steelers on bye this week, Warren will have a week of rest. According to PennLive Steelers beat reporter Nick Farabaugh, Warren is expected to be back for the Steelers' Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Jaylen Warren Fantasy Football Outlook
Warren is the Steelers' second-leading receiver in terms of yardage. While Gainwell has two more receptions than Warren, Warren has 77 more yards. In fact, with 11.8 yards per target, he's only 0.1 yards per target behind team-leader D.K. Metcalf.
Without his receiving work, Warren would be a marginal fantasy running back. In each of his three games, he has only run for between 37 and 48 yards and has yet to score a rushing touchdown.
Jaylen Warren might only be averaging 3.1 yards per carry but he's playing good ball right now. Sick jump cut on the first drive.
121 of his 132 yards have come after contact through the first 3 weeks of the season. pic.twitter.com/CoplzSjNV8
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) September 22, 2025
He only ranks No. 40 in the league for rushing yards, but he's No. 5 amongst running backs in receiving yards.
Warren has been a pretty good receiver for most of his career. He gained over 300 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons. But this year, he's on pace for over 600 receiving yards. Can he keep it up?
His receiving production is up because of increased volume and increased effectiveness. He has been targeted 4.0 times per game compared to 3.1 targets per game last year.
But where Warren really shines is in his efficiency. He's averaging 3.55 yards per route run. In his career, he has only averaged 1.49. His yards per reception are 12.9, which is 4.7 higher than his previous career high.
What accounts for the change? Aaron Rodgers is not playing that much better than Russell Wilson was last year. He is averaging slightly fewer yards per attempt than Wilson did in 2024.
In short, Warren has been coasting on unsustainable receiving efficiency. His rushing efficiency is lower than his career average, too, so there is room for that to improve. However, we should not expect it to be as high as it was in his first two seasons.
In the meantime, while Johnson has started the season slowly, there's always the chance he could find his groove later and take volume from Warren. Rookie running backs sometimes take some time to find their footing.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Looking for a replacement in your lineups? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like David Montgomery, Woody Marks, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason, J.K. Dobbins, Rachaad White, Chase Brown, Tony Pollard, Michael Carter. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - David Montgomery, Woody Marks, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason, J.K. Dobbins, Rachaad White, Chase Brown, Tony Pollard, Michael Carter. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Looking for a replacement in your lineups? Below are some popular Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for David Montgomery, Woody Marks, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason, J.K. Dobbins, Rachaad White, Chase Brown, Tony Pollard, Michael Carter compared to others:
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