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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 6 (2025).
The Steelers are coming off their bye week in Week 6 as they host their division rivals, the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers went into the bye week after a win in Dublin over the Vikings. The victory boosted their record to 3-1 on the season, good enough for first place in a struggling AFC North.
They got that Week 3 win despite missing their starting running back, Jaylen Warren, who was inactive due to a knee injury.
When will Warren return to action, and what is his fantasy football outlook when he does? Let's dive in.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Jaylen Warren Injury Update
Warren's knee injury was a little bit of a surprise to his fantasy managers. He popped up as limited in practice the Friday before Week 4 and was listed as questionable. Initially, it seems like mostly a precautionary tag, but ultimately, the fourth-year back from Oklahoma State was listed as inactive against the Vikings.
After that absence and the bye week, it looks like Warren will be ready to resume his role in the Steelers' backfield timeshare in Week 6. He was able to put in a full practice on Wednesday, indicating he should be ready to return against the Browns, possibly even avoiding an injury tag entirely.
8 days after being a late scratch for a game because of a knee injury, here’s Steelers RB Jaylen Warren at practice pic.twitter.com/6LW5jzhNwK
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 6, 2025
Obviously, after his late scratch two weeks ago, his practice status and progress will be key to monitor going forward, but things are trending in the right direction for Warren this week.
Jaylen Warren Fantasy Football Outlook
Before the injury, Warren was sharing time with Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell took most of the work in Week 1, but Warren was the clear lead option in Week 2 and Week 3. Against the Patriots in Week 3, he played a massive 80% of snaps and delivered 47 rushing yards on 18 carries with five catches on six targets for 34 more yards.
In each of his three games this year, he has at least 10 carries, and he has racked up 132 rushing yards and 142 receiving yards in his three games, with one receiving touchdown in Week 1.
While he was out in Week 4, Gainwell shouldered the load with 19 carries for 99 rushing yards and two rushing scores, while adding six catches on six targets for 35 more yards.
KG14 💪@KENNETHGAINWEL | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/l3jsA0M3Hm
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 30, 2025
Gainwell has proven he can be productive flying solo or in the rotation, and he has already scored three times this season. However, both backs have been at their best as part of a backfield rotation, and that will likely resume in Week 6 against the Browns.
Both running backs are flex plays or fringe RB2 options in this week's matchup against Cleveland. Warren is ranked No. 27 in RotoBaller's RB rankings for PPR leagues with Gainwell at No. 32. Both bring limited upside since they're sharing work, but both also have proven they can contribute meaningful stats, especially when their team is playing from ahead, as they are expected to do this week against the Browns.
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? Some common Week 6 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Zach Charbonnet, Michael Carter, Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Kareem Hunt, RJ Rarvey. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 6. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 6 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 6 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Zach Charbonnet, Michael Carter, Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Kareem Hunt, RJ Rarvey. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 6.
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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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, players 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 circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (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 6 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 6 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Zach Charbonnet, Michael Carter, Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Kareem Hunt, RJ Rarvey compared to others:
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