The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth together at the top of the 2021 NFL Draft. With the 2024 season now over, the two know they may have played their last game together. Following an ignominious playoff exit, they shared a moment of reflection on the bench, glimpsed at on Hard Knocks.
The show didn’t offer us much, but what we do see is telling enough. Pat Freiermuth sits wrapped in a coat next to a sullen Najee Harris. “Been through a lot”, he says to the Steelers’ pending free-agent running back. “Wish it could’ve been different”.
While not nearly at the same level nor at the same stakes, the exchange immediately reminds of the Steelers’ postseason exit of 2020. After that loss, it was QB Ben Roethlisberger and C Maurkice Pouncey sharing a moment on the bench. Those two had spent a decade together, and Pouncey was about to retire. That’s not the case for Harris and Freiermuth.
But the Steelers’ first- and second-round picks of 2021 have experienced the organization’s ups and downs. They hoped that, with Russell Wilson, Arthur Smith, and offensive line upgrades, they would finally see the up. There were glimpses of it, but ultimately Harris and Freiermuth are back on the bench wondering.
Those musings take on a different tone when pondering the end of something, though. Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth are genuinely good friends now in real life. Along with Dan Moore Jr., they are also the old guard on this offense. Nobody knows better than they do the journey the Steelers have been on in that time. Nobody else played with Ben Roethlisberger, Kenny Pickett, and Justin Fields and Russell Wilson.
The Steelers signed Freiermuth to a contract extension but did not pick up Harris’ fifth-year option. As a result, Harris is a free agent come March, and there’s a strong chance they don’t plan to re-sign him. He didn’t have his best season, though at times it looked like he would.
While it’s easy for fans to live in their bitterness, especially after a loss, sports are also deeply human. Sure, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth are both millionaires and should be just fine in life. If Harris isn’t with the Steelers in 2025, it’s because someone else was willing to pay him more.
But it’s never easy to part company with a friend, particularly in a group venture such as this. Harris and Freiermuth surely had many discussions over the years about winning the Steelers’ seventh Super Bowl. They know now that they may never even get that chance together again and could be in different cities.
It’s tough on a human level, but both know that football is a business, even for the Steelers. They may still re-sign Harris and keep him with Freiermuth, but that is a current unknown. All those two friends knew that night sitting on that bench is that it could be the last time their butts were ever cold together on a football field again.
