Player: RB Najee Harris
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: While the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, RB Najee Harris is focused on 2024. By all accounts, the fourth-year running back has shown up in great shape, slimming down from his previous playing weight. With all factors considered, he seems primed for a career year at just the right time.
It’s hard to say whether the Steelers feel they’ve gotten their money’s worth out of RB Najee Harris. Then again, perhaps they already answered that question when they declined to exercise his fifth-year option. But that doesn’t mean they don’t value the three years he has given them already with one more to come.
That is, at least one more season, as the Steelers could still retain Harris, even if he hits the open market as an unrestricted free agent in March. Barring the unlikely event that they extend him, it will all depend on what he does this upcoming season.
The Steelers reportedly want to see how Harris meshes with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith first. That may well be partly true, but perhaps they’re more interested in a comparison to how Jaylen Warren fits. The price tag may prove imprudent to retain both running backs on a long-term basis.
It’s good news for Najee Harris, either way, because chances are his price tag is only going one way: up. The way things are looking, he should comfortably have his best season in 2024. He is playing in the best-run offense with the best offensive line he has had since entering the league.
One might argue that his biggest concern is the risk of watching Warren outperform him. Harris and Warren have had a friendly competition over the past two seasons, and that balance between the two could push further to an equilibrium.
Either way, he seems to be taking the right approach to it all. The Steelers may have declined Harris’ fifth-year option, but he is giving everything to the 2024 season. That includes slimming down some, perhaps a response to Arthur Smith’s offense and the workload sharing with Warren.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
