On the field, it was Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jaylen Warren dodging Cleveland Browns’ defenders. In the locker room after a messy 13-10 loss, it was RB Najee Harris dodging questions from reporters.
The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly asked Harris if he felt like the entire Steelers locker room had a team-first mentality, one that put the collective ahead of the individual. It seemed like a layup for an easy response. Yes, of course, we just have to fix what’s not working. Something like that. But that wasn’t Harris’ answer. His answer was nothing.
“Do I think everybody is team-first on this team?” Harris said, repeating the question, followed by a long pause. “I’d rather not talk about team. I’ll just talk about me and my performance. If you’re going to ask questions about me.”
Then a Steelers PR assistant announced the team had to get ready to go back to Pittsburgh, ending the interview with a “thank you.”
The clip, as tweeted by The Trib’s Chris Adamski, below.
Of course, that is a PR-speak for “I’m shutting this interview down before Harris says anything else that raises an eyebrow.”
Earlier in the interview, The Trib’s Joe Rutter sent out a couple more quotes from Harris.
“I want to say what I really want to say, but it’s difficult,” he said.
Clearly frustrated by his and the offense’s performance, Harris finished the day with 12 carries for 35 yards. His day got off to a decent start, but the Browns soon shut him down. Instead, RB Jaylen Warren had the big Steelers’ performance of the day, the only one to do so, rushing nine times for 129 yard and a touchdown, a 74-yard explosion to open up the second half.
While Harris was fed more than Warren, even after that touchdown, Harris’ role has continued to shrink since Warren came on scene last year. Entering this week, the two players were in a virtual 50/50 timeshare. Based on Warren’s output Sunday, he may have officially passed Harris in the pecking order, even if Harris stays on top of the team’s actual depth chart.
But that doesn’t get to the heart of Harris’ answer. Or the concern that stems from his non-response. Losing is never easy, especially under this circumstance, and frustration is common right after the game. But there’s something that isn’t sitting right with Harris that goes beyond the offense’s poor execution. The Steelers are still 6-4, still in the playoff race, but another AFC North loss next weekend to the Cincinnati Bengals could fracture whatever cracks could exist inside this locker room. Or at least to Harris.
