Najee’s 5th will cost 7 million

He didn't use the words "mood swings," which brings a different connotation than what Kobaly said. Just because Harris can be unpredictable in the way he speaks to the media doesn't mean he has issues that affect his play on the field. There is no real evidence of the latter.

 

Nobody talks about Najee being a team captain in 2022 with Mitch, and then losing it for the 2023 season. Why did he lose it for the 2023 season???

As often as you see a brand-new guy show up and demand the "C" for his jersey, it has to mean something to the players. Wanna bet that Russell Wilson gets the "C" this year?

 

My point exactly.


Furthermore, I seriously doubt the Steelers will give Harris away either. Has to be something that the team wants. Only WR heavy teams would have that. I want to add Washington as a WildCard for Curtis Samuel but Jayden Daniel's needs all the help he can get.


Placing Harris behind a very suspect Commanders line is little different than what he faced back in 2022.

 

It’s the only logical reason I can come up with why they wouldn’t do the fifth year option outside of poor s heme fit and not valuing the position. What else is there?

 

I already explained this. Khan might be too focused on making every deal a bargain. That can lead to some great moves, but it can also cost them some solid ones. It is the same reason they seem to be leaving a gaping hole at receiver.

 

How players deal with the media isn't really indicative of how they are with teammates or on the field. Hell, some of them are different depending which media they are speaking with.

 

That’s a stretch. If it were about a bargain a khan would have offered the fifth year option. You even said yourself at 7 million Najee would be paid as twelfth best even though his stats indicate him to be 7th best. So it is not about a bargain here. This is definitely more indicative of their lack of trust of Najee either in his fit or his attitude or his lack of explosion etc. you don’t like that narrative because it paints Najee in a bad light so you have to attack Khan. The whole reciever hole thing has nothing to do with trying to get a bargain. Not sure where your coming from with that one.

 

I think $7 million is a good price, but that doesn't mean Khan sees it that way. It fits in with his decisions at center and wide receiver, passing on what were likely reasonably-priced free agents because he couldn't get them as cheaply as he wanted.

Pointing out a potential flaw in his approach is not attacking Khan, but you don't like anything that paints him in a bad light, so you have to make up things about Harris. (See? I can do that, too.)

 

Like what? I'm not doubting it, but I don't remember comments from Harris about the coaching staff. There was the one about the team refusing to make necessary changes that was interpreted as a shot at Canada, but it could have been about Pickett, too.

They needed another captain along with Trubisky in 2022 because they knew there was a good chance he wouldn't last all season as the starter. They entered the 2023 season convinced that Pickett was the man, which is why he was captain on his own without Harris. We don't know how he felt about all that. To my knowledge, his only comments about the change were positive.

“Kenny’s the quarterback,” Harris told reporters. “Kenny’s the guy. I have no issue with that.

“I don’t think anybody has an issue with there being one captain. As long as we win, we’re not tripping. It’s all a team sport.”

 

So now its Center and WR. First of all they brought in a Center Mitch Morse but weren’t able to come to an agreement. Does that make them cheap for not signing the guy? No it makes them prudent for kicking the tires and not signing the first free agent that crosses their path. I would say drafting a younger, cheaper alternative has worked out for them and it has alot more upside. Regarding Receiver, I still don’t get what your talking about. They tried bringing in the guy from the Chargers but he signed before we could even meet with him. They have signed some middling FA’s but they are still actively seeking to upgrade that position. In addition they drafted a high pedigree WR who I am certain we are all going to like significantly more than DJ. Was trading DJ a bad move? They had to do it. What was the alternative? Have the locker room further conflicted with bad attitudes in it. I don’t think DJ would have meshed well with Arthur Smith either.

Regarding Najee. I too think $7 Mil is a good price. I do not think this is about money or cap space in the way you project it to be. They may be looking at the value of the position and the two backs they have and saying we are only going to spend so much for that position and they are choosing to spend it on Warren. But to me that is more of an endorsement of Warren over Najee and a lack of faith of Najee. So no matter how you slice it I think it still comes down to how they view Najee. If they absolutely loved the guy and had to have him they would easily spend the 7 million. They will have more than enough cap space next year that 7 million would hardly put a dent in it. So again this is not about the money it is about their belief in Najee or should I say lack of belief in Najee.

Do I think it is a mistake? I wouldn’t do it but I can certainly not fault them for wanting to upgrade the position. Again even the top tier RB’s don’t often get second contracts with their original club. I know this 5th year option isn’t a second contract so they must be convinced that they want to go in another direction. I will say I don’t see Najee as a top tier back like you do. The Steelers obviously don’t see him that way either.

 

Yes, they were cheap for not signing Morse. He ended up signing for a relatively cheap deal with the Jags. The Steelers got lucky in having Frazier fall to them late in the second round. I'm happy it worked out, but that was a big risk.

Anybody who thinks they should just go with Warren as the feature back needs to watch the season finale against the Ravens again. Warren did very little because he fumbled twice. Harris carried the load. You do realize the Steelers play in an outdoor stadium in the Northeast, right?

 

You call them not signing Morse and drafting Frazier luck, I call it prudent and calculated and not letting fear drive your decisions. Funny how you judge Harris and Warren on one game but yet you don’t judge them on multiple games at the beginning of the season or even mid season.

you and I can argue all day. The fact of the matter is it is clear they value Warren more than they do Najee. Would I like to keep both of them, sure. Could we have got at least two more years, I thought so. But clearly they don’t value Majee like we do.

Maybe this will light a fire under Najee and will exceed all expectations. Sadly I don’t think he can get faster or more explosive.

 

Relying on something out of their control and having a player fall farther than expected is luck. At least Khan didn't screw it up when the solution fell into his lap, which Colbert did with the center position many times at the end of his tenure.

No, it is not clear that they value Warren more than Harris. That would only be true if they did something to lock up Warren past this season.

 

They were fine sitting pat until JPJ was drafted. Then I’m pretty sure they were A) working the phones trying to move up at a reasonable price and B) going over every team in front of them and behind them, comparing team needs, players available, and willingness to trade. What you call “luck” is actually called hundreds or thousands of hours of preparation. But I’m sure that looks like luck to some people.

 

Somehow I think if you played poker against Khan you would lose all your money. I think Khan had a decent idea that Frazier would go in the mid second and he was willing to swing for the fences meaning be patient and let him fall to you. I also believe they had a plan to move up if they thought there was a real possibility that he wouldn’t fall to them in the second. Sure its a risk but it certainly keeps you from over drafting a player. I think Khan is always going to shoot for getting what he perceives to be the best player at the said position of focus for the price or draft pick he thinks is appropriate for that talent and that position. That kind of thinking prevents you from trading up to 10 and reaching on a smallish ILB or drafting a RB in rd 1 when talent was there at that position in rd 2 and 3.

I have a much better feeling about this Fo staff from the perspective of their vetting and evaluating both draft picks and NFL Free Agents. I felt like Colbert was more of a name chaser his last five years here. Perfect example is Demarvin Leal. The guy had some predraft buzz and was touted as one of the higher pedigree DT’s the year previous to the draft year he got drafted in. He never really lived up to the draft projections his senior year and he wasn’t really a fit for our defensive scheme. But because he was the there in the third round and he had a high pedigree from a name standpoint we went ahead and took him because we had a need at that position. It was a dumb pick. The guys production in college didn’t;t equal his projected talent level and he wasn’t a fit. Thats poor scouting and lazy and desperate drafting.

I don’t see Khan making any of those types of moves. Each move he makes appears to be a move where he is trying to improve that position whether it be addition by subtraction (getting rid of bad attitudes) or finding players who fit the mold of what you are trying to build - (Payton Wilson - quick fast, instinctual offball LB who can cover and play the run equally effective, Mccormick - Athletic and physical guard, Logan Lee - Long athletic and productive 5 Tech DT that can be groomed and grow into a potential rotational piece. Heck look at Loudermilk and Logan Lee. Logan Lee had better production in college than Loudermilk. Loudermilk simply had the body with some nice testing numbers and they thought they could mold him. Colbert drafting Loudermilk was a hope and prayer. Khan drafting Lee is certainly based on hope but it seems alot more calculated and decisive than Colberts way.

You can’t discount Wiedl either. The Steelers last two drafts have mimicked the way Philadelphia drafts and they have been one of the most successful franchises at drafting over the last five years. Build up the trenches, have a clear identity of the type of player you are looking for to fit your system and attack areas of weakness. We did it with ILB and OL over the last few years and even QB bringing in three new ones. Philly attacked the CB position this year as that was their area of weakness.

The other thing is I feel like there are way more eyes and collaboration when it comes to decisions with respect to looking at talent and evaluating talent wether it be a free agent or draft pick. You have Wiedl and a whole slew of new scouts in that room now bringing a fresh perspective. Where as in the past I always felt like it was Colbert and Tomlin and a bunch of yes men. With this whole Najee thing I feel like you had the collaboration of Khan, Wiedl, Tomlin and probably Arthur Smith evaluating what was best for the team and probably coming to the conclusion that they came up with. Knowing that you have guys who have been outside the organization like Wiedl and Smith providing a different perspective and most likely and unbiased opinion makes me value the decision and trust it even more.

 

Translation: You can't stand anybody questioning Khan. I like most of what he has done, but he's not infallible. Of course he is always shooting for the best player at the best value, but sometimes those risks are going to blow up in his face. It easily could have happened with Frazier and it is happening so far at receiver.

 

I am fine with you questioning Khan. But its funny the very thing you accuse me of seems to be the situation you find yourself in with defending Najee. All I am saying is give the guy time to see how this all works out. You keep bringing up Receiver. I do not have any idea what you are alluding too. Khan cut DJ. He had too. I would have lost respect for him, Tomlin and the organization if they had kept DJ. I disliked him as player more than any player on that team. At any rate, he drafted a WR (best available) which unfortunately is a slot receiver but at least he didn’t reach for a perimeter receiver just to fill a position. He is now trying to get the (rightttttttt) receiver either by trade or some other means. I am happy he didn’t just go sign a a washed up veteran like an OBJ or Tyler Boyd etc. At this point in their careers I don’t think much separates those guys and what we already have on the roster so its a waste of time and roster space to just bring in more of the same.

At this point I think we have beat a dead horse. Only time will tell who was right on this.

 

He didn't cut Johnson. He traded him. I have no problem with him doing that. I have a problem with him playing the scrap heap for his replacement.

That said, he didn't have to cut or trade Johnson. Pickens is every bit the punk Johnson is and he's still a Steeler, so Khan didn't take some great moral stand on that one. He dumped the guy in the final year of his deal for another player with a similar contract situation.

Boyd is 29. This idea that he is washed up is laughable nonsense by people who are too caught up in the Khan Artist thing.

 

I think We must wait on the whole Wrs thing before we judge, but I also think too many people are getting caught up in the whole Khan Artist thing. I Like the Guy, and I think so far most has been done well, but We haven't really seen the complete fruits of even His 1st draft yet.

 

Yes it was a trade but honestly it was amazing we got anything for him. It is hard to move player with an attitude problem and when the rest of the league knows there is friction between the player and the team it significantly reduces their trade value so in some ways it did feel like a cut. Pickens certainly appears to be a punk for sure. The difference is he didn’t get into a fight with Trubiscky or Minkah. He didn’t flat out quit on a play in the middle of the game. He didn’t call out coaches or fight with coaches as far as i know. He didn’t threaten to hold in if he didn’t get his contract extended. With Pickens in his second year you hope he can be salvaged and put on the right path. He is worth investing the time in and he is significantly more talented than DJ. I already touched Boyd in a previous post, you just don’t get it. Perimeter Receivers run vertical routes and they have to be adept at getting off press man etc. and getting up the field quickly either to actually be an open target for their QB or to draw coverage away from the underneath route to open it up for the slot or RB, etc. But you seem to want to stock up with slot receivers for some reason. A slot receiver and a perimeter receiver are two very different receivers.

 

I agree with you. I also think we need to see what their true plans are at RB and Najee and Warren etc. before we truly judge this. I like most of the moves the guy has made so far and I like that he is aggressive and willing to take chances. Its definitely different from what we have been used too. I am sure there will be moves we don’t like or question but for the most part there was alot of team building he needed to do to overcome so many of the holes we had on this roster. I knew going into this last draft that with the amount of holes we had that we weren’t going to be able to fill them all. I thought tackle was going to be the hole we weren’t going to fill. Honestly there is a part of me that still wishes we would have drafted one of the DB’s but I’m trusting in their plan.