Congrats Najee Harris

That would be silly of the FO. They could've picked up his option for $6.7M, then decided on a contract value next offseason.

It's Dulac, so I'll take it with a grain of salt.

 

Henry got $8M a year

Why would anyone sign a lesser back for $12M

 

I like Najee and would be fine with a reasonable deal. I just don’t think he is going to get the payday he believes he will, especially with a depressed market for RBs.

 

Man, I didn't see this coming. I think Najee needs to explore his FA options.
If this is true just goes to show you how inept the Steelers really are. It pains
me to say this about my hometown team one that I have followed for over 55 years.

 

Agree completely

IF they resign him it's pathetic

There are likely 10 RBs in this draft far superior to Harris. Yikes

 

Because Najee is 5 years younger than Henry?Henry was a free agent 30+ year old RB looking for a home.


Najee is a lot more comparable to Barkley who just signed for 12+ million per year last year at 27. Of course, Barkley doesn't have the 4 straight 1,000 yard seasons that Najee had.

Najee is coming in at a $9.2 million market value for 2025. Or 3 years at $27 million, but I think there will be a bidding war for Najee's service and he will go over the $30 million mark.
Najee Harris | NFL Contracts & Salaries | Spotrac.com

I believe King Henry, and Saquon Barkley have reset the RB market, for teams that now believe they are just 1 RB away from winning it all.

I could easily see Najee Harris being some teams Jerome Bettis, getting the hell out of Pittsburgh and going to a team where he can win a Super Bowl and have a Hall of Fame career.

 

Najee is not half the player Barkley is

 

Based on all purpose yards Najee was about the 20th best running back in 2024

That slots his salary worth at about $4M

Although in FA some team may over pay

 

This is an excellent post, and seems like a pretty fair assessment. Though, I'd argue with injuries and such there are a few behind him that are better players, but they didn't get the health or touches to keep up. $4 million is pretty close to what I have him valued at. He's roughly the 25th-27th best back in the league to me and FA always gets a premium.

I'd rather us spend that cash elsewhere. Not because Najee isn't worth bringing back as a tandem guy at that price, but because if we bring him back, we're just going to start him and jam him with top 5-7 back usage like we have the past 4 years to minimal success. Both Najee and the Steelers are better off without one another.

 

And that's the risk/reward of FA. The RB position has gotten more value because of the success of teams that of teams and individuals who used it more effectively this year, Najee and his agent may have a perceived in mind and some GM may bite, no one really knows until the dealing begins.

 

There was an article claiming the steelers would/could place a 2nd round tender on Warren (which would be 5 million), when I mentioned this someone said 5 million for a nr. 2 back? IDK if it happens or not, but Warren's value (underused IMO) exceeds Najee's in this system, if they would use him.

 

I agree that he is underused... but yeah, I'd value Warren's skillset over Najee's as well. It's not that Najee doesn't do what he does well. He soaks up carries, stays healthy, and can give you a good amount of carries without fumbling or breaking down. It is what he can't do that dwindles his value. His lack of explosion, his inability to punish the defense in space, and his inability to be a real threat aside from a dump off in the pass game limits his worth. He was just born 20 years too late.

I'd tender Warren and draft a high end back in round 1 or 2 to make our RB room a strength. Smith loves to build around the run game (and so does Tomlin apparently), having a quality guy like Warren and a high upside rookie makes a lot of sense. Then its just coaching up that young line. A few simple decisions can really change the outlook of our offense in 2025. I hope we decide to go that route.

 

Najee finished 5th best in the NFL for runs over 20 yards at 9.

WOW... Jaylen Warren had only 1 run for more than 20 yards; I thought everyone said he was the quicker RB for the Steelers.

Funny, at that pace Warren would need 1,080 rushing attempts to match Najee's 9 this year. Or, 9 more years

 

When looking at this offense, it's really void of speed and playmakers outside of Pickens. If Arthur Smith's focus is the run game we need to transition away from Najee and find a young stud RB in the draft. I know they say not to take a RB in the 1st round but if Jeanty is there at 21 we take him. I think Najee made the OL look poor because he has no burst, has no vision as he runs up their backs, and is lack luster when it comes to cutting to an open hole. A stud RB, like Jeanty, has the vision to see cut back lanes and has the burst and speed to get through them as well as the contact balance to absorb hits and stay on his feet. Najee would get hit and go down on first contact more times than not. A stud back is also a QBs best friend as defenses have to respect the run and that will open up throwing lanes.

 

Kinda a wild stat when you think about it. Najee has done pretty well with # of runs over 20 yards in his career. With a career 3.9 YPC, it really puts in perspective how often he has to run for negative or nothing to be good at plays over 20, but abysmal in YPC. Surely there are some cherry picked stats that make Najee look like a quality player, but really there isn't much to say on the subject.

Najee's yards before contact is nearly a full yard less than Warren's (less explosive), it takes him 10 rush attempts per broken tackle while Warren takes 8, and they have the exact same yards after contact. So essentially Warren is more explosive, runs with more power, is tougher to bring down, is a better receiver, better threat in space, and has the ability to score from our own side of the field. Though, Najee has proven that a team can run him into the ground like we have and not get hurt or fumble often, while Warren has never gotten the carry load to prove he can be the main back and fumbles more than Najee. All of these statements are backed up by statistical evidence. They played the same offense, behind the same line, had the same BS OC in Canada (f us), and both were used in all situations.

 

Just making stuff up Warren runs with more power , how many times have we seen like 5-6 guys trying to tackle Najee and the pile keeps moving. Warren couldn't even pick up a 4th and 1 against the Bengals against a DB .

 

Just like one NFL commentator said about Harris, he has no juice.

 

I'm not making anything up, the stats are what tell the story. The guy with more yards after contact and a higher rate of broken tackles generally is the guy that runs with more power. You should compare the stats of the two, you might be surprised what they tell you.

 

The 5th year option is only for that one season. You don't get to just keep him at that salary.


Spotrac sets Najee's value at around $9M per season.

 

Brice is looking like Barkley as he jukes away from his original argument though. Careful, he might pull out the reverse hurdle on you.

 

The tape doesn't lie