In a very busy offseason featuring a number of additions and subtractions to the roster, the Pittsburgh Steelers have one key looming question this offseason regarding a key member of the roster: what to do with running back Najee Harris’ fifth-year option.
While GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin have publicly praised and thrown support behind Harris as a key fixture for the Steelers, they have not addressed the decision regarding the fifth-year option other than that they are working through it.
But for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, he fully expects the Steelers to pick up the fifth-year option for the standout running back, especially because the offensive scheme under new coordinator Arthur Smith is a perfect fit for Harris and his style.
“I think everything that we know about how the Steelers wanna play under this new front office regime and everything we know about Arthur Smith, you need that bell-cow running back. Even though he’s gonna be in a rotation, you need somebody like him who’s gonna carry that load,” Fittipaldo said of Harris during an appearance on the 93.7 The Man Morning Show Wednesday, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “So I think whatever the number is, like $6 million, I think you spend a first-round pick on the guy, you might as well get that extra year out of him.
“So, I fully expect them to pick up that fifth-year option, even though I’m seeing nationally a lot of people are saying don’t pick it up, go with Jaylen Warren. But I just think it’s a no-brainer. You pick it up and you ride him for that fifth year as well.”
It certainly seems like a no-brainer on paper, but the Steelers haven’t made a decision yet.
Harris’ fifth-year option was officially set at $6.79 million, which must be decided upon by May 2. Should the Steelers pick up the fifth-year option, it would become fully guaranteed for the 2025 season.
While speaking to reporters from the NFL Scouting Combine in late February in Indianapolis, Khan was non-committal regarding Harris and the decision on the fifth-year option. But that might just be standard practice for Khan and the Steelers regarding contract decisions that don’t need to be revealed until the day of.
Based on everything the Steelers have done in recent seasons to fit a play style that they very clearly want, not picking up the Harris fifth-year option and making him an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season seems like bad business, something that Khan and the Steelers haven’t been doing since he took over.
Harris fits well into the style the Steelers want to play, and he’s at his best late in the season when the weather gets colder. He showed that time and time again last season down the stretch, turning in 100-yard games in Weeks 17 and 18 as the Steelers made a push into the AFC playoffs, looking like the workhorse, top-tier running back the Steelers envisioned when they selected him at No. 24 overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Those two-straight 100-yard games led to Harris eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark, helping him make Steelers history while becoming the first NFL running back to record three-straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons to start his career since Washington’s Alfred Morris from 2012-14. Harris has also been a very durable running back for the Black and Gold, having started every game since being drafted in 2021.
We’ll see what the Steelers ultimately decide when it comes to Harris’ fifth-year option, but based on where Fittipaldo’s head is, calling it a no-brainer and fully expecting it to be picked up, that seems like the popular belief in and around Pittsburgh.
