Category: Najee Harris

Steelers RB Najee Harris makes bold claim about his value

Najee Harris has always been outspoken about the undervaluing of NFL running backs.

The most interesting part of the Pittsburgh Steelers arrival at Latrobe for training camp on Wednesday was the interview running back Najee Harris did with reporters. After skipping the media upon his arrival, Harris came out and shared his thoughts on the team as well as his contract situation.

Harris has been very outspoken about the undervaluing of NFL running backs when it comes to contracts. Harris and other NFL backs are seeing the types of massive deals that receivers are getting and wondering out loud why they don’t have that same sort of value in the market.

Then Harris took it one step further and made the claim that he literally carried the Steelers offense some games.

“I wouldn’t say devalued,” Harris said. “They’re only devalued when it comes time to pay. They’re not devalued, though, if you look around. There are games where I literally carry the offense. It’s not really devalued, but when it comes time to pay, that’s when they want to devalue the position.”

Harris has six 100-yard rushing games in his three-year career. Harris has been incredibly reliable, rushing for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. Harris’ career high in rushing came in his second career game when he did carry the Steelers as he rushed for 188 yards against the Cleveland Browns in a 26-14 win.

It is unclear if Harris is playing his final season in Pittsburgh or not.

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Steelers RBs nowhere to be found on ESPN rankings

The Steelers running backs get no respect by the league.

NFL running backs are in a strange spot right now. Despite this being one of the most talented and athletic groups we’ve seen in NFL history, they are still viewed as undervalued by the league and don’t get the respect they deserve.

ESPN polled NFL coaches, scouts and executives to put together this ranking of the 10 best running backs in the league. Here’s how the top 10 went:

1 – Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

2 – Breece Hall, New York Jets

3 – Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

4 – Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

5 – Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

6 – Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

7 – Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

8 – Jahmy Gibbs, Detroit Lions

9 – Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

10 – Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

You will notice that there are no Steelers backs to be seen. In fact, even when you look at the honorable mentions, there’s no mention of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren at all.

To find Harris, you have to scroll all the way down to the bottom and he is among those backs who also received votes. This is despite Harris topping 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first three seasons. A feat no other running back has ever accomplished.

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The rise and fall of Steelers RB Najee Harris

Najee Harris was the Steelers’ first pick in 2021 and now his future with the team is in the balance.

After the 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were at an impasse at running back. They’d let James Conner walk in free agency, and what remained in Anthony McFarland, Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell was far from special.

Although the role of a running back was vastly different, and it was considered a risk rolling the dice on one in the first round, that’s precisely what Pittsburgh did. With the 24th overall pick, the Steelers took who some perceived as the best in the running back class in Harris.

Right out of the gate, Harris was a stalwart performer. As a rookie leading the league in touches, Harris put up 1,200 yards rushing — surpassing Franco Harris’ record of 1,055 set in 1972. He added 467 receiving yards and finished with 10 total touchdowns on the season. His next two seasons were much the same, with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and 18 more scores.

The knocks on Harris remain his lack of vision and yard per carry. He hovered at the 4.0 average in 2023 but fell below in 2021 and 2022.

In Harris’ second season, the Steelers signed undrafted free agent Jaylen Warren, and before too long, the two were nearly splitting touches.

Both are in the final years of their contracts, with Warren’s potential exit made more tricky by restricted free agency.

By not picking up Harris’ incredibly team-friendly $6.97 million fifth-year option in May, Pittsburgh appeared to say all it needed to. Harris doesn’t seem to be part of the team’s future plans. But as any good general manager does, Omar Khan keeps options open, saying that the non-move doesn’t preclude them from signing Harris to a long-term deal.

No matter how you slice it, while Najee Harris hasn’t lived up to his draft position, he’s been a serviceable back. The hot-and (mostly)cold offensive line hasn’t done him any favors, but we’ll see if that changes in 2024.

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Steelers GM hints at future deal with RB Najee Harris

No fifth-year option for Najee Harris doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t offer him a long-term deal.

Not exercising Najee Harris’ option was not indicative of Omar Khan‘s feelings for—or even the future of—the Pittsburgh Steelers star running back.

Khan said the decision not to extend Harris was purely business.

“It was a business decision that we had to make… but Najee’s awesome to have around here,” Khan said last week on 93.7 The Fan. “Love Najee as a player and a person.”

Khan then hinted that something could still be on the horizon for the fourth-year back. “And just because we didn’t pick it up, that doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee for the long term.”

Entering the final year of his rookie deal with an unclear future, all eyes will be on Harris as he works in Arthur Smith‘s new offense.

While players now have one game more to put up numbers that will inevitably be compared to players of the past, running backs are also not utilized like they once were. Would it be beneficial if Harris was consistently churning out four-plus yards per attempt? Sure, but that’s not what the Steelers have required of him.

Harris has played through a nagging Lisfranc injury — and other issues fans aren’t privy to — at a level that produced three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. All behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. It’ll be exciting to see how Harris executes Smith’s game plan with the help of some new faces in the trenches.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin eases concerns with Najee Harris sidelined at minicamp

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said that Najee Harris not participating in practice is not health-related.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris was in sweats on Wednesday after missing minicamp on Tuesday, according to TribLive’s Joe Rutter.

Mike Tomlin eased concerns when reporters pressed him on the topic. “Not anything that is going to be an issue whatsoever regarding health,” he said, noting that Cam Heyward also did not practice.

If it’s not a health issue, though, what are their absences regarding? I’m sure we’ll never find out unless it becomes a bigger deal.

Both players are in the final year of their contracts.

 

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Steelers RB Najee Harris declines interview request after OTAs

Najee Harris isn’t ready to talk to the media about his contract.

If you were hoping to get some clarification from Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris about the rumors surrounding his contract, you will have to keep waiting. Harris was at OTAs on Tuesday, late and excused by head coach Mike Tomlin but declined to speak to the media after practice.

The Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option this offseason meaning Harris will play the 2024 season and then hit free agency. This is of course unless Harris and the Steelers can come together on a contract extension this offseason.

But the controversy comes from the rumor that Harris actually asked to have his fifth-year option declined and he is ready to move on from the Steelers at the end of the season—a claim his agent refuted.

We might never know the truth but with Harris’ willingness to always speak openly and honestly with the media, his absence on Tuesday came as a surprise.

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Steelers RB Najee Harris takes the advice of Le’Veon Bell a year later

Najee Harris is finally focusing on his fitness and conditioning.

Last year, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell offered up some friendly advice to current Steelers back Najee Harris. Bell’s advice was to do what he did, lose some weight, and trim down as a way to improve his game. This advice came at a time when Harris’ weight was a topic of discussion and a worry for many fans.

Anytime the topic came up, Harris downplayed it and made it seem like his conditioning was a non-issue. Fast forward to now and maybe Harris is finally starting to get it but is it too late?

This offseason, the Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option sending Harris into his final season without a contract and lo and behold, we now find out Harris is working hard on his fitness and is trimming down for the upcoming season.

“One of the main things he’s done, personally, was make some big changes to his eating habits,” Harris trainer Josh Scott said. “Anytime you’re looking to recomposition your body and drop body fat, that’s going to be the first place you look.”

This might be too little too late if Harris wants to stay with the Steelers. The team is going to focus heavily on the run game this season but Harris is going to be splitting carries with Jaylen Warren and the comparisons will be there every week.

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Najee Harris’ agent rips radio host who claimed he wants to leave Steelers

Najee Harris’ agent says the radio host’s claim about his client is not true.

Earlier on Thursday, radio host Paul Zeise said on 93.7 The Fan that he was told running back Najee Harris asked the team to decline his fifth-year option and he plans to move on from the Steelers at the end of the season.

Harris’ agent Doug Hendrickson took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast Zeise, calling his claim a “joke” and telling him to do his homework next time.

The Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option, leaving him set to hit free agency at the end of the 2024 season.

While we appreciate Harris’ agent going public with a denial, it really doesn’t mean anything at this point. Even if Harris didn’t ask the team to decline his option so he could leave in free agency, he still might have asked for them to decline it so he could try to earn a big contract extension with them at the end of the season.

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Paul Zeise claims RB Najee Harris is ready to move on from Steelers

According to one radio host, Steelers running back Najee Harris asked to have his fifth-year option declined.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Pittsburgh Steelers declined the fifth-year option for running back Najee Harris. This means Harris will play out the final year of his rookie contract in 2024, and if the two sides don’t work out a new contract, he will hit free agency next offseason.

According to 93.7 The Fan radio host Paul Zeise, the decision to decline Harris’ fifth-year option came from Harris and not from the front office.

“Little birdie said Najee Harris actually asked for the Steelers to decline his fifth-year option because he would like to go play somewhere else,” Zeise said.

If this is the case, and we have no reason to believe it isn’t, we will find out soon enough once the season gets going. If the Steelers have no plans to bring Harris back and Harris has no plans to return, the team could easily turn to Jaylen Warren and shift the bulk of the workload to him.

But if the team wanted to be a little spiteful, why not work Harris into the ground one last time?

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An uncertain future for Najee Harris in Pittsburgh

Najee Harris’ chances of suiting up for the Steelers beyond 2024 are slim.

In this day and age, running backs are a dime a dozen. A league that was run-heavy for decades now focuses on making plays through the air. It’s not something that’s lost on Najee Harris. He knows his time in Pittsburgh is about to run out (pun intended), especially since the Steelers chose not to pick up his fifth-year option.

According to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, Harris’ chances of suiting up for the Steelers beyond 2024 are slim.

As for the extension, that’s not going to happen. It’s difficult to come up with a legitimate scenario in which he comes back next year. If he puts up another good year, he’ll test free agency and get paid a decent salary. If he doesn’t produce this year, why would you want him back? That’s what you have to consider when you decide not to pick up the fifth-year option.

How will Harris respond off the field? Kaboly says it could go one of two ways.

I can see him taking it in stride, or I can see him making noise over it. You never know with him. I’m sure he feels disrespected, but it won’t benefit him if he dwells on it.

How will Harris respond on the field?

2024 is essentially an audition for Harris. He’ll want to perform to his highest potential to earn a big payday from his future team—north of what Pittsburgh wants to pay him. Expect Harris to have a career year, which will require consistently putting up 4+ yards per attempt and finding paydirt when the opportunity strikes.

Last season, Harris was at his statistical best in both categories. With his fewest attempts (255), he managed eight touchdowns and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Overall, nine games produced an average above four YPC.

This is no slight on Harris, as he has no say in the schedule of defenders, but his best YPC outings were versus the Cincinnati Bengals (6.60 YPC; 29th-ranked run defense) and the Green Bay Packers (5.13 YPC; 22nd-ranked run defense). Against the 16th-ranked Jacksonville Jaguars, Harris carried the ball just seven times for 13 yards (1.86 YPC).

The decision not to pick up his option appears to favor third-year running back Jaylen Warren. An undrafted player, Warren has outperformed his $2.56 million contract and will expect to be paid accordingly before it expires in 2025.

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