Passing on RB Najee Harris’ fifth-year option is one of the most surprising moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason. Reports at the time indicated that the Steelers wanted to see his fit with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith first.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette issued that report, and now he has another, slipped into an article yesterday. He writes that even following the preseason, the Steelers still have no intention of extending Harris this year.
“Meantime, extending [Pat] Freiermuth would make sense”, Dulac writes, “because the Steelers have a number of consequential players who will be free agents after the season, including Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. They don’t have plans to extend any of those players before the start of the season”.
Harris, Wilson, and Fields are all due to be unrestricted free agents, but Warren will be restricted. They can hit him with a second-round tender to retain him, although it is not cheap. They are likely to do so, but the question is if they view the running back position as either/or. Unlike other extension candidates, Harris has said the Steelers have had no contract discussions with him.
Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have made for a dynamic rushing tandem the past two years. The Steelers hope to see them take it to another level in 2024 thanks to Arthur Smith and a rejiggered offensive line, including rookie Zach Frazier taking over at center. The lineup will eventually include first-rounder Troy Fautanu as well, as early as the season opener.
The Steelers’ first-round draft pick in 2021, Najee Harris has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each season. He is not the most efficient runner in the league, but at his best, he is a powerful runner. Last season, he rushed for 1,035 yards on 255 attempts, finally cracking 4.0 yards per rush. He also posted a career-high eight rushing touchdowns, though he had no receiving touchdowns.
By their own acknowledgment, the Steelers want to run the ball a lot this year. It’s a good strategy in the absence of a long-term plan at quarterback, and they have the backs for it. But do they need both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren for the long term, or can they retain only one?
The theory goes that if you have an efficient system and a good offensive line, running back is largely a plug-and-play position. If you have one quality back, you can supplement on a budget with players who fit the system. Both Harris and Warren will likely cost several millions after this season.
That in itself is a point, though, if they want to use this season to evaluate both. What if Najee Harris looks really good this year with Arthur Smith? You could still tag Jaylen Warren, but maybe you’re open to taking the compensatory pick. It would take a team believing Warren is worth a second-round pick, though a team could also trade for him.
