The Pittsburgh Steelers made a business decision when they declined Najee Harris’ fifth-year option last May. He had three-straight seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards and had yet to miss a game, but an emerging Jaylen Warren and a new offensive system with Arthur Smith compelled them to play the waiting game to see how things would shake out.
That makes Harris an unrestricted free agent in March, and ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler says he’s positioned himself well with a strong season.
“One player who has really helped himself is Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris,” Fowler wrote via ESPN. “He’s on pace for nearly 1,200 rushing yards, which would be a career high, and is about to eclipse 1,000 yards for the fourth time in his four seasons. None of his current peers have accomplished that feat. Yes, open-field speed is an issue, but he can dictate the pace in the right offense.”
Harris is on pace for 1,167 rushing yards, so it would be just a hair below that career high mark that Fowler alluded to. That’s still a pretty strong season. He is barely outside the top 10 in rushing yards. All it would take is a strong game or two and he would be near the top five, to give a sense of how close the top of the rushing charts is right now.
He has 207 attempts for 824 yards and four touchdowns this year, with another 29 receptions for 249 yards. His 4.0 average is the second-best mark of his career.
His durability and consistency are a big plus for whichever team ends up signing him. It’s not impossible that it could end up being the Steelers, either.
“Both Steelers backs — Harris and Jaylen Warren — will be interesting free agents, though the success they’re having in Arthur Smith’s offense makes you wonder if they both might want to stay in Pittsburgh (depending on price, of course),” Dan Graziano wrote. “Warren will be a restricted free agent, too, so it might be tougher for him to cash in.”
GM Omar Khan said back when the option was declined that it didn’t preclude the Steelers from still doing business with Harris and working on an extension, stating that they would love for Harris to be in Pittsburgh long term. That will come down to Harris’ goals. If he is seeking to make the highest possible dollar, then I doubt it will end up being the Steelers who give that to him.
Warren will be a free agent this offseason but restricted so the Steelers can easily tender him. A second-round tender on Warren would be roughly $5,217,000 for 2025, according to Over The Cap. If they pay Warren that amount, would it be a good idea to also sign Harris to a decent extension? Running backs are coming back into style, so it’s not completely out of the question.
I was always in favor of picking up that option year because it wasn’t that expensive in the grand scheme of things at $6.7 million.
It would be a shame to move on from Harris right as the offensive line starts to jell with a bright future for that group. But perhaps it’s because of the offensive line investment that the Steelers might feel comfortable moving on from Harris and finding a younger running back in next year’s draft.
