Is Najee Harris playing his way out of a second contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers?
The Steelers declined to exercise the fifth-year option for Najee Harris this year, making him a free agent in 2025. They felt they needed to see more from him before this season started, but what happens if they see it? How much are they willing to pay him next year? Will he price himself out of Pittsburgh?
The running back market was reasonably robust in 2024, and next year could be a decent one, too. Najee Harris will certainly be one of the top names on the market, but there is also James Conner and J.K. Dobbins. Conner is getting old and Dobbins has a concerning injury history, however, while Harris is just…plodding.
But Harris has looked less plodding this year, even if he declines to credit dropping some weight. He is among the league’s more elusive backs this season in terms of forced missed tackles, and he is starting to break off longer runs.
In fact, Harris is working on a two-game 100-yard streak, just the second time in his career. Obviously, he isn’t going to rush for 100 yards every game, but he is hitting a stride he normally hits later in the season.
If Najee Harris is already in “midseason form”, so to speak, he could easily put up career numbers. Let’s say he finishes the season with 1,400 rushing yards, 1,700 all-purpose yards, and 8-10 touchdowns. He averages about 4.3 yards per carry.
Where does that put his market value, and would the Steelers be willing to match it? The fact that we really haven’t seen a lot of Jaylen Warren yet this year makes it more complicated to answer. I don’t think we have even seen Warren at full health so far, so after the bye may be more telling for Harris’ future.
Importantly, the Steelers will need to tender Warren as a restricted free agent, which means a sizeable pay increase. A second-round tender is over $5 million, so would the Steelers give Najee Harris an $8 million per year deal on top of that? Would they possibly sign Harris and just tender Warren with the right of first refusal at about $3.2 million?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
