Steelers RB Najee Harris could be playing his final home game in Pittsburgh this weekend. Earning a playoff home game at this point is very unlikely, and his contract expires in the new league year. Will the Steelers re-sign him? Do they even have interest in doing so, and at what price?
Even Harris’ former teammate, Ben Roethlisberger, puts his GM had on when discussing the matter. NFL teams have taken a very pragmatic approach when it comes to paying nearly all running backs lately. And truth be told, Najee Harris is not Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry.
“There’s gonna be a lot of questions up there for [Najee Harris], what they want to do there”, Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast earlier this week. “If I’m a GM and I have the team first, I’m trying to low-ball him. See what’s the least amount of money I can offer to keep him here”.
During the 2024 offseason, the Steelers declined to exercise the fifth-year option on Harris’ rookie contract. At the time, many took that as a clear indication of their plans—which would be to let him walk in free agency. The fifth-year option would have been relatively affordable, but they reportedly wanted to see him in Arthur Smith’s offense.
With one game left to play, Harris has delivered a pedestrian, workmanlike performance. He has 1,007 rushing yards on 251 attempts and five rushing touchdowns, the lowest marks of his career. While he has hit at least 4.0 yards per carry for the second year in a row, he is still below that for his career. The Steelers did use him in passing situations a bit more, Harris catching 32 for 263 yards. His 1,270 yards from scrimmage are the second-most in his career, but his five total touchdowns are his fewest.
While Roethlisberger advocated for low-balling Najee Harris, he still wants the Steelers to keep him. “I think it’s important to have him here”, he said. “I think he’s a guy that’s developing into a good leader on this team. I think that he’s a guy that’s a good one-two punch with [Jaylen] Warren. So I think that’s important, to try to keep him around”.
He also pointed out the bowling ball in the room, which is Jaylen Warren. The third-year back has been out-snapping Harris in recent weeks, even seeing more touches in the last two games. Of Warren, Roethlisberger said, “This is why teams aren’t paying running backs a lot of money. Because you can get guys that are later-round guys that play, and you need a two-headed monster”.
Since Week 7, roughly around when he got healthy, Warren has rushed for 429 yards on 94 attempts with one touchdown. He has 30 receptions for 271 yards, though he has two fumbles as well. In the same span, Najee Harris has 631 yards on 155 attempts with four touchdowns. He has 18 receptions for 128 yards, and a fumble that somehow wasn’t charged to him.
