The Pittsburgh Steelers declined to exercise the fifth-year option of Najee Harris’ rookie year contract in a bit of a surprising move.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan stated at the time that, “It was a business decision that we had to make by May 2. But Najee’s awesome to have around here. Love Najee as a player and a person. Just because we didn’t pick it up it doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee long-term. I’d love to say Najee was here and had a long career in Pittsburgh. He really represents us well on the field and off the field.”
Pittsburgh did not work out a long term contract with Harris before the season commenced.
The Steelers could have locked up Najee Harris for the 2025 season for around $6.8 million. With Jaylen Warren scheduled to be a restricted free agent, Pittsburgh could have retained both running backs at not too steep a price.
Najee’s Progress in 2024
I’ll track his progress in 2024 along with his projected full-season statistics. The question is whether Pittsburgh should have either exercised the option or signed him to a long-term contract before the 2024 season began. There will be an opportunity to sign him after 2024. But depending on his production, the price may be much steeper.
After two games Harris is on track to rush for 1,181 yards on 314 carries this season. That would place him second among the 2023 NFL rushing leaders.
I’d also keep an eye on his success rate on running plays. The top 12 running backs with at least 100 carries in 2023 had successful run rates between 50.7 and 62 percent. If Harris has over a 50-percent success rate, he will be among the top running backs in that category.
And he’s yet to score. He needs 11 touchdowns to place among the top 10 running backs in 2023.
| Rush | |||||||||
| G | ATT | Yards | TD | 1D | SUCC%` | Y/A | Y/G | Brk/Tkl | |
| Najee Harris | 2 | 37 | 139 | 0 | 5 | 43.2 | 3.8 | 69.5 | 2 |
| Projected Season | 17 | 314 | 1181 | 0 | 42 | 43.2 | 3.8 | 69.5 | 17 |
Plus, he’s on pace to add 119 receiving yards on 17 receptions. However, that receiving yardage would be outside the top 50 running backs in that category. But combined with his rushing yardage, Harris is on track for 1,301 yards from scrimmage. Which would be 11th among running backs in 2023.
| Receiving | Total | ||||||||
| TGTs | REC | Yards | TD | 1D | SUCC% | Y/G | Catch% | Touch | Tot Yards |
| 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 7.0 | 50.0 | 39 | 153 |
| 34 | 17 | 119 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 7.0 | 50.0 | 331 | 1301 |
Conclusion
In 2025, the Lions’ David Montgomery is scheduled to be the 10th highest-paid running back. His cap number will be $7.1 million. Najee Harris would have been right behind Montgomery if Pittsburgh had exercised his fifth-year option.
It is a bit early to determine how Harris stack up among running backs next year. But I will follow up on this early snapshot in the bye week to revisit his progress.
Your Song Selection
I always like to include a bit of music. Will Omar Khan be able to work something out with Najee Harris? Or are we content to see him move on? Who will be right or wrong? Not much time beyond this season to work it out. Here is We Can Work It Out performed by the Beatles.
