There’s only so many snaps and touches a running back can handle throughout a season and a career. Pittsburgh Steelers third-year running back Najee Harris knows this.
He knows at some point his workload is going to affect his future earnings, yet even with that hanging over him at the position, the bell-cow running back again wants all the reps in preseason action he can get.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday morning following a walk-through practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Harris again advocated for seeing snaps in the preseason starting in Friday night’s opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is looking forward to putting some film out there that he can watch and get better entering the 2023 season.
“I think getting reps in preseason is always important, but it’s whatever he [Mike Tomlin] wants; it’s his decision,” Harris said, according to video via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “… You don’t want no guys to play the whole game. I’m not a coach obviously, but you would want to give the guys a couple series’, get some film out there so when we come in, we can look at it, correct it, see what we can do better.
“But there’s a fine line. But obviously that’s Mike Tomlin’s job, not mine, so let him handle it.”
Coming off of a season in which he was hampered early on by a Lisfranc injury and then racked up 313 total touches, one would think that the Steelers would be a bit mindful with Harris in the preseason in an effort to keep him fresh. Harris doesn’t want that though, and it’s understandable why he doesn’t.
Pittsburgh found something last season in the second half of the year with its running game led by Harris and backup undrafted free agent Jaylen Warren. It took awhile, but once the running backs clicked with the offensive line, the run game became dominant, turning into the No. 7 rushing attack in football.
Getting a jump on that chemistry in the preseason is a good thing, and that’s what Harris wants. There’s nothing that can prepare you quite like live reps. Being able to put film out there, see what went right and what went wrong, even on a limited number of snaps, is huge for a young, developing offense, especially in the run game.
But overall, the wear and tear in a meaningless game isn’t all that great for Harris in the long run. We’ll see how Tomlin handles Harris’ workload Friday night on the road. It’s the first preseason game of the year for both teams, so maybe Harris stays out awhile with the starters and then has his workload lessened in the final two preseason games. He wants to play though. He’ll get his wish Friday.
