Najee Harris didn’t need to wait until this week to know he wouldn’t be returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With writing on the wall for months, Harris understood his last snaps with the team that drafted him were coming before the Steelers’ 2024 season wrapped up. Signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, Harris admitted that reality during his introductory press conference Friday.
“Najee Harris says he knew halfway through the season last year that it would be his last in Pittsburgh. Says he and Coach [Mike] Tomlin were pretty close and he was aware of the business side of things,” tweeted Bolt Breakdown’s Alex Insdorf.
The realization likely started last May when Pittsburgh surprised by declining Harris’ reasonable fifth-year option. At the time, reports indicated they wanted to see how Harris would perform under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, claims that felt dubious. He had a season similar to his first three, a volume rusher who posted another 1,000-yard season. At his best, a bruising runner who wore defenses down. At his worst, unable to create his own lanes and plodding for three yards and a cloud of dust.
Despite whispers of Harris returning because of his connection with Mike Tomlin, the odds of him re-signing always felt slim. In the final moments of the Steelers’ Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he and close friend TE Pat Freiermuth shared a quiet sideline moment, Freiermuth lamenting that things could’ve been different.
When Harris agreed to a deal with the Chargers, Freiermuth shared multiple videos and photos of the two while wishing Harris well with his new team.
For Harris, he heads close to home. A California native, Harris said the Chargers’ identity was a driving reason to sign with them. Not the location. Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, who recruited him out of high school, Los Angeles immediately became a physical and power team. Harris will add to that as the team’s current top back on the depth chart, though the Chargers could add a speed element to offer what they had last year in J.K. Dobbins. Still a free agent, Dobbins’ return to the Chargers isn’t out of the question.
Pittsburgh tendered RB Jaylen Warren and signed former Philadelphia Eagles back Kenneth Gainwell, who could take on a Cordarrelle Patterson-like role. The Steelers are also actively searching in the draft for additional help, likely targeting a runner in the third or fourth round. So far, they have or will bring in Kansas State’s DJ Giddens and Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson for pre-draft visits.
