Najee Harris held down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back position for the past four years. However, he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency in March. That left them with a hole in their backfield. To help replace Harris, the Steelers spent their third-round pick this year on Kaleb Johnson. However, he doesn’t have their starting job locked up yet. The Steelers also have Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell. Despite having their top three set at the position, Mike Florio floated the idea that the Steelers should consider trading for Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr.
“I can think of one up the road from me that doesn’t seem to have anybody popping in the running game,” Florio said Tuesday on his Pro Football Talk podcast. “The Steelers could use him.”
The Commanders took Robinson in the third round of the 2022 draft. He quickly earned their starting job as a rookie, a spot he’s held since then. While he’s been a quality player, Robinson hasn’t had a lot of volume. Last year was his best season, but he only posted 799 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
Recent reports indicate that the Commanders are likely to move on from Robinson. He could get traded or even released. Robinson only has one year left on his contract, so any team that trades for him would need to give him an extension or risk the Alabama product being a one-year rental.
During that same podcast, Chris Simms supported Florio’s idea of the Steelers trading for Robinson.
“I liked Brian Robinson coming out of college more than I did Najee Harris,” Simms said. “They’re very similar. That’s an interesting thing. That’s actually a good one right there. I like where your head is at. The Steelers certainly, I think, would like that type of player. He would fit that Arthur Smith mold of running between the tackles and physical football.”
In training camp, the Steelers’ run game was a little disappointing. That carried over into their preseason opener. In their second preseason game, however, things were different. The Steelers’ run game produced more, with Johnson in particular having a much better showing.
Robinson would likely fit with the Steelers due to his tough running style. However, do they need him? That’s less clear. And the Steelers seem comfortable with their running back room.
If they didn’t have Johnson, then maybe trading for Robinson would make more sense. At the moment, though, the Steelers have bigger weaknesses on their roster. Upgrading at running back shouldn’t be a priority.
