Najee Harris didn’t anticipate facing a contract year in 2024. But that’s his reality after the Pittsburgh Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year option. In doing so, Harris is now scheduled to hit free agency next March, and he’s motivated for it.
Brian Batko spoke to Harris’ trainer, Josh Scott, who is working extensively with the fourth-year back this offseason. He writes for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Harris is “trying to become a big back with more burst and maintain his power while he trims down a bit to get quicker”. According to Scott, he is currently around 235 pounds, but others have said he looks 220. The Steelers’ website lists him north of 240 pounds.
Scott described Harris as looking “Much more durable, much more nimble dropping that maybe eight or 10 pounds, whatever it was, of body fat but then replacing some of that with some good, lean tissue”. He added that it’s evident in how Harris moves. “He’s looking really, really springy; really, really light off the ground; and more agile”.
Harris is not known as one of the more fleet-of-foot running backs in the NFL. Notably, Harris ranked fourth in explosive runs in 2023 with eight. Yet out of those eight runs, he had zero runs of 30 or more. He only has three such runs, two in his rookie season, and only one of 40-plus yards.
And it’s worth reminding that Najee Harris has 834 career rushing attempts over three seasons. I’m sure there aren’t many players with 800-plus rushing attempts and only one 40-plus-yard gain. Of course, that’s only one indicator of speed, but he doesn’t play to his unofficial 4.45 40 time.
Aside from working on his agility, Scott says Harris has emphasized dropping weight through diet. He described the running back as “extremely clean — almost obsessively clean — with his diet”. With the weight loss, he also added back some lean muscle.
Over the past two seasons, Harris has increasingly found himself sharing the workload with Jaylen Warren. The Steelers had to convince him that that was a good thing, but he still wants to touch the ball every time. Increasing his endurance and possibly adding a bit of quickness makes him a more tempting option.
Some have erroneously overemphasized the balance between the two backs, however. I have frequently heard even beat writers suggest they approached a 50-50 balance in the second half of the season. That is not true either of touches or of snaps, though the gap narrowed to a degree.
Najee Harris is still the Steelers’ primary running back entering the 2024 season, or so we can assume. I don’t think their decision to decline his option is a signal that they intend to play Warren more. But if Harris makes good on his offseason promise, he may actually find himself on the field more rather than less.
