The likely will be in the market for a free agent running or perhaps by drafting one with the news that it’s very possible that leading rusher Rashard Mendenhall could miss the 2012 season.

Mendenhall, the 23rd overall pick of the 2008 draft, tore his ACL in the regular-season finale against Cleveland. And general manager Kevin Colbert said Monday that Mendenhall is likely to open next season on the physically unable to perform list, as he works his way back from an injury that can be devastating for running backs. He certainly won’t be ready for training camp because the injury happened so late in the 2011 season.

“I never feel good about an ACL until (after) a year,” Colbert said. “I’m not a doctor, but that’s just my mindset. If he gets back before that, it’s a bonus.”

At present, the Steelers may have to use a committee of Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and John Clay. Redman rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ final two games, and he averaged 7.1 yards per carry in a playoff loss in Denver.

“Our young backup contributors did a nice job,” said Colbert, who added that obtaining another back wasn’t necessarily a priority right now.

Mendenhall’s 928 rushing yards and nine TDs led the Steelers in both categories in 2011. Teams are allowed to keep players on the PUP list through the first six weeks of the season. That means the Steelers may have to decide in mid-October whether to add Mendenhall to their active roster or put him on injured reserve.

When asked if Mendenhall may miss all of next season, Colbert said, “(He) possibly could.”

Mendenhall is going into the final year of his contract. His injury puts on hold any plans the Steelers had in signing Mendenhall to a long-term deal. He recently said the pain from his January ACL surgery is gone, but he isn’t adhering to a timetable to return.

“Right now it’s getting full range of motion back, bending the knee, straightening it back, things like that,” he said. “I don’t look at time as much as being 100 percent.”

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