Backup RBs get a good look in camp

pads on because there’s definitely going to be competition.”

Veterans Stevan Ridley and Fitzgerald Toussaint and youngsters Jarvion Franklin and James Summers round out the training camp backfield. Two, maybe three, of those six will be on the 53-man roster in the regular season.

It’s an important camp for Conner because injuries wreaked havoc on his rookie year. He was injured shortly after the draft and did not get as many reps as the coaches would have liked. He also got banged up a few times in training camp.

Once the regular season started, Conner wasn’t used much, but he was productive in his limited playing time. He rushed for 144 yards on 32 carries before a knee injury in Week 17 ended his season.

General manager Kevin Colbert acknowledges the depth behind Bell is an issue the front office and coaching staff are working through this summer.

“It’s an unknown,” Colbert said Thursday morning. “When you get hurt in minicamp, like James did, you get on that moving train and it’s hard to catch up, unfortunately. Once he got himself healthy and caught up physically, he did some good things. Then he had a knee injury.So we don’t know.

“James has to prove he can be available and be productive for 16 games. Jaylen Samuels has to prove he can be an NFL running back. The other guys, Fitz and Stevan Ridley, we know what they’ve done and they have to prove they can continue to do it. But without Bell here, those guys are going to get the opportunities for that. We’ll have a much better feel for that position after this preseason.”

The selection of Samuels is intriguing for a couple of reasons. In addition to creating some competition for Conner, he is versatile and offers a skill set similar to Bell’s.

Samuels had more receptions than carries at N.C. State. When he attended meetings in college, he was with the receivers. Now he’s in the running backs room, and it appears new offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is searching for ways to get him involved.

Much like Bell, Samuels can line up at halfback, in the slot or as an outside receiver.

“I feel like it will definitely be a great fit for me,” said Samuels, who had 1,851 receiving yards and 1,107 rushing yards in his four years at N.C. State. “They’re getting me on mismatches with linebackers. I feel like I have great speed and great hands. It should be interesting.”

Coaches are putting a lot on Samuels’ plate, and he’s trying his best to keep up.

“It’s just a little bit more complicated with me playing true running back because I didn’t play strictly running back at N.C. State,” Samuels said.

“I was playing a lot of receiver. But it’s all second nature to me. I’ve been doing this all my life. I did it at N.C. State. I’m just doing it in a different room.”