One running back in Najee Harris could be out the door in free agency for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but backup running back Jaylen Warren seemingly isn’t going anywhere.
According to Steelers GM Omar Khan, who spoke to reporters Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the Steelers expect to tender Warren, ensuring he’s in Pittsburgh for the 2025 season.
“I’m confident we’re gonna tender him and be in a position where Jaylen’s gonna be here,” Khan said of Warren, who is a restricted free agent.
Warren is coming off a season in which he rushed for 511 yards and a touchdown on 120 carries, adding another 38 receptions for 310 yards in the process. He served as one of the few playmaking options the Steelers had offensively, especially late in the season.
With Harris set to hit free agency and likely out the door, though Khan didn’t rule out a Harris return Tuesday, that puts a greater emphasis on the Steelers retaining Warren. They could do so with a first- or second-round tender, or a right-of-first-refusal tender.
According to OverTheCap.com, a right-of-first-refusal tender’s projected value is $3,185,000. Tagging Warren at the second-round level would cost the Steelers $5,217,000. That’s a difference of around $2 million, which isn’t all that substantial in the grand scheme of things but is still noteworthy for a team with plenty of holes to plug.
The Steelers should be able to get away with the right-of-first-refusal tender, saving some money. While Warren is a good player, he’s coming off a quiet season in which he struggled with injuries. So, there might not be a huge rush from teams to ink him to a deal. That could give the Steelers the flexibility to put the right-of-first-refusal tender on him and ultimately land him for that $3.185 million.
It’s a gamble, for sure, but one that has a good chance of paying off for the Steelers. Having Warren, a player head coach Mike Tomlin called a significant part of the offense, would be huge for the Steelers as they build toward the 2025 season.
