Snell will step in as the Steelers' No. 2 running back for Sunday's game against the Chargers with Jaylen Samuels (knee) sidelined for at least a month following arthroscopic surgery, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The fourth-round pick out of Kentucky has seen a minimal role to date despite being active for all five of the Steelers' contests, logging only 12 offensive snaps and six touches in total. Samuels' absence creates an opening for Snell to see an expanded role, but the rookie's expected bump in playing time probably won't be substantial enough for him to make a major imprint on the box score. The Steelers are instead likely to lean more heavily on lead back James Conner, who projects to fill the majority of the passing-down responsibilities that Samuels had held.