Pittsburgh’s Conner takes advantage of quarantine

Whew! Chiefs don’t owe $1M after all

PITTSBURGH — James Conner didn’t treat the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle, but an opportunity.

While the shutdown forced the Pittsburgh Steelers running back to cancel a couple of planned vacations, it also gave him time — a lot of time — to filter out the noise heading into the most important season of his career.

“(It) helped me get away from all distractions,” Conner said Tuesday. “I’m not saying they’re all distractions, but not going out, to stay home and cook at home, and not be able to maybe go out on weekends. It forces people to stay home, so with that time at home I was just trying to get better.”

A process that included an aggressive workout plan designed to help Conner avoid the injuries that have dogged him since the Steelers took him in the third round of the 2017 draft.

While the 25-year-old has shown flashes at times and reached the Pro Bowl in 2018 thanks to an electric first half, he’s missed 10 games over the past two seasons and has topped 100 total yards just three times in his past 15 starts.

While general manager Kevin Colbert has repeatedly stressed the organization still believes in Conner, the club also declined to approach him with a new deal. Conner insists he didn’t take the decision personally.

“That’s the game,” he said. “I want to do a lot more so I can give a lot more to this organization. I trust the Lord’s timing. I’m not concerned about the extension. I know I’ve got another year left on my contract. I’ll give it all I got for one more year and see how it plays out. … I’m just going to ball out.”

Conner, who won a battle with lymphoma during his college days at Pittsburgh, isn’t concerned about his health being at risk whenever he and his teammates get back to work in person. He called himself “100%” ready to play under whatever safety guidelines are enacted to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

CHIEFS: The Missouri Supreme Court has found that the Kansas City Chiefs don’t owe $1 million in back taxes on the decade-old Arrowhead Stadium renovation after all.

The Kansas City Star reports that the court found Tuesday that the state’s Administrative Hearing Commission erred last year when it ruled that the team should have paid sales taxes on a number of items bought during the $375 million upgrade.