Najee Harris

AFC West Notes: Bolts, Broncos, Wilkins

March 25th, 2025 at 5:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Retaining Najee Harris was believed to still be a Steelers option this winter, but the team had declined its starting running back’s fifth-year option last May. Passing on that opened the door to the 2021 first-rounder becoming a one-contract Steeler, and Harris said (via ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim) he began to believe late last season he was on his way out. The Steelers do not negotiate with players in-season, but serious re-signing talks did not emerge this offseason. Harris landed a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Chargers.

The Miami alum said Jim Harbaugh was a lead reason he signed with the Bolts. The team ramped up its run-game usage last season and has since cut Gus Edwards. Primary starter J.K. Dobbins is also a free agent. He of four 1,000-yard seasons, Harris is almost definitely set to start for the Bolts this season. The Steelers slapped a second-round RFA tender on Jaylen Warren and signed ex-Eagles backup Kenneth Gainwell in free agency.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

Staying on the running back beat here, the Broncos have not replaced Javonte Williams (who signed with the Cowboys). With a deep running back draft approaching, the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson views it as a near-certainty the team will bolster this position come April. The Broncos hold picks in the first three rounds for the first time since 2021, before the Russell Wilson and Sean Payton trades depleted their draft capital. Having addressed linebacker, safety and tight end in free agency, Denver should have a clearer runway to add to its backfield during the first three rounds.
Elsewhere on Denver’s roster, the team already turned to Jonathon Cooper‘s contract — agreed to at the midseason point — as a restructure avenue. The team moved Cooper’s $4MM roster bonus into a signing bonus, per the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel, who adds the team created $3.2MM in cap space via the adjustment. The Nik Bonitto sidekick remains signed, at $13.5MM per year, through the 2028 season.
The Broncos also replaced fired inside linebacker coach Michael Wilhoite, hiring former college DC Jeff Schmedding, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Schmedding, 47, comes over after two seasons as Washington State’s DC. He was Auburn’s DC in 2022 and Boise State’s from 2019-20. This Broncos ILB post will be Schmedding’s first NFL job.
Back to the restructure topic, the Raiders cleared out cap room by turning to Christian Wilkins‘ monster deal. Las Vegas converted Wilkins’ $20.5MM roster bonus, which was due earlier this month, into a signing bonus. That will spread out the D-tackle’s cap hits over the life of the contract and free up 2025 cap room, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore indicating the team created $15MM in space. The Raiders hold $50.9MM in cap space as of Tuesday, according to OverTheCap.
Winding up some Chargers contract matters, the team added two defenders on low-end deals. The Bolts’ accord with defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand is for one year and $2.35MM, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, adding $1.93MM is guaranteed. Hand can earn another $1MM via playing-time incentives. Hand, 29, started two games for the Dolphins last season; he had previously gone since 2020 without starting a game. Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips‘ Bolts deal is worth $2MM over one year, per OverTheCap. The team is guaranteeing Phillips $700K, between a $400K signing bonus and a partial salary guarantee, Wilson adds. Phillips, 28, will reunite with Chargers GM Joe Hortiz, who was a Ravens exec during the reserve LB’s two-year run in Baltimore.

Chargers To Sign RB Najee Harris

March 11th, 2025 at 8:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

MARCH 11: In terms of base value, Harris will be tied to $5.25MM in 2025, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. Incentives cover the rest of the contract. While this is more than the Chargers gave Dobbins last year, it certainly checks in as less than Harris was expected to command.

MARCH 10: The Chargers’ rumored interest in Najee Harris will produce an agreement. After four Steelers seasons, Harris is heading west on a one-year deal.

Harris will sign with Los Angeles’ AFC team on a contract worth up to $9.5MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A Bolts team that cut Gus Edwards and has not re-signed J.K. Dobbins will turn to Harris, who was the Steelers’ starting RB in each of their games since 2021.

This agreement comes hours after the Steelers placed a second-round RFA tender on Jaylen Warren. This will make the Harris three-year Harris change-of-pace option harder to pry away, but the Steelers will be in the running back market again now. Although the team was not believed to be out on Harris, not picking up his fifth-year option in 2024 provided a decent indication a 2025 separation would be acceptable.

A 2021 first-round pick out of Miami, Harris has played through injuries to start every game in his four-year career. After a 1,200-yard rookie season, Harris finished with 1,034, 1,035 and 1,043. Oozing consistency, Harris also does not bring much flash. Next Gen Stats rated him in the bottom third in rush yards over expected in 2022 and ’24, though the metric was oddly bullish on the between-the-tackles grinder in 2023.

Harris, 27, may well have a skillset that appears to Jim Harbaugh. The team did not see much from the player it previously sought as its power back — Edwards — but a newly run-oriented Bolts operation could generate plenty from Harris in 2025. Harris needing one-year deal does not bode well for his future value, however. Already accumulating 1,097 carries, the durable back will be set to log at least 200 more with the Bolts this season. That will wind his mileage to a potentially undesirable place come 2025.

Though, last year’s free agency showed teams willing to take chances on veterans at the position. Successful seasons already brought Saquon Barkley an extension and Aaron Jones a substantial raise. Derrick Henry, this generation’s RB outlier, also played himself into position for a Ravens pay bump after his 1,900-yard rushing season. Harris not being able to cash in now, after displaying durability and consistency, may be a worrying sign for his post-2025 earning potential.

Chargers Pursuing RB Najee Harris

March 10th, 2025 at 6:46pm CST by Rory Parks

The Chargers are pursuing free agent running back Najee Harris, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Earlier today, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson reported that Harris had been saying goodbye to some of his Steelers teammates, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler subsequently noted the Bolts could have interest.

Harris is more of a grinder than explosive talent, but he is about as consistent as it gets at the position. The 2021 first-rounder has played through injuries to start every game in his four-year career. After a 1,200-yard rookie season, Harris finished with 1,034, 1,035 and 1,043 over the next three. Next Gen Stats has not viewed him as an efficient ball-carrier, however, ranking him in the bottom third in rush yards over expected in 2024 and second-to-last in 2022. A finish in the top third of this metric did transpire in 2023, perhaps marking one of Harris’ few inconsistencies in a career that has also featured between six and eight rushing TDs each season.

Los Angeles is certainly in need at the running back position, as the club released Gus Edwards several days ago and could lose J.K. Dobbins to free agency. While Harris has established himself as a high-floor, low-ceiling type of player, Chargers offensive coordinator and run game guru Greg Roman — who is plenty familiar with Harris after having operated as the Ravens’ OC for the first two years of the RB’s career — may be able to help him find another level.

Even if that does not come to pass, there is plenty of value in having a steady, durable ball carrier near the top of the depth chart. Plus, regardless of whether the Chargers can push a Harris deal across the finish line, the team could certainly seek another addition in a draft lauded for its RB talent.

The Steelers will likewise be on the lookout for RB help. While Pittsburgh has retained Harris’ more dyamic running mate, Jaylen Warren, via the second-round RFA tender, the cupboard is largely bare beyond that (save for the change-of-pace looks that Cordarrelle Patterson can provide). The need for rushing talent will be heightened if the team fills its quarterback position with the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, whose running ability will not make anyone forget Justin Fields.

Steelers Still In Play To Re-Sign Najee Harris

February 7th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not picking up Najee Harris‘ fifth-year option, the Steelers also did not conduct any known extension talks before Week 1. A team with a no-in-season negotiating policy has either left this winter window open to re-sign Harris or is prepared to move on with Jaylen Warren and a cheaper option in 2025.

Although Harris could do well on the market, the Steelers are not closing the door on re-signing him before that point. While cautioning no franchise tag is coming to keep the four-year starter off the market, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac pegs the possibility of the Steelers re-signing Harris before free agency as “strong.”

If nothing else, Harris has offered consistency in Pittsburgh. Added after the team let James Conner walk in 2021, Harris surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in all four of his seasons and has never missed a game. After a 1,200-yard rookie season, he proceeded to churn out three seasons with totals between 1,034 and 1,043 yards. Each rookie-contract season featured yards-per-carry numbers between 3.8 and 4.1. Harris certainly does not bring much flash to the equation, but he has been a productive running back. And this year’s free agent market is not set to rival 2024’s.

The Saquon Barkley– and Derrick Henry-fronted class changed teams’ outlooks, and the accomplished group helped set the market for extensions. In the months that followed, 2025 free agents-to-be Conner, Rhamondre Stevenson and Chuba Hubbard signed re-ups worth between $8.3-$9.5MM per year. Alvin Kamara, who would have become a 2025 street free agent upon being a Saints cap casualty, instead reached a compromise to stay. New Orleans extended Kamara at two years and $24.5MM. The Lions did not appear on track to release David Montgomery in the final year of his three-year deal, but the sides huddled up on a second contract — a two-year, $18.25MM pact.

As 2024 proved busy at running back, it both set a potential price range for Harris and depleted the market. While the batch of extensions points to Harris landing a deal in that ballpark, the former first-rounder could do a bit better simply because teams have limited options. Then again, a 2025 RB rookie class is viewed as much better than 2024’s; that would stand to negate potential Harris market advantages.

As it stands, Harris headlines a free agency class that includes Rico Dowdle, Javonte Williams, Aaron Jones, J.K. Dobbins and Nick Chubb. The Broncos are not expected to bring back Williams, who has not been the same since a 2022 knee injury, and two significant maladies have defined Chubb’s past two seasons. Dobbins impressed with the Chargers and should do better on this year’s market, but the ex-Raven also landed on IR yet again last season. Jones turned 30 in December; Harris will turn 27 this offseason.

Harris and Dowdle may well be the prizes on the upcoming market; the latter is coming off a 1,000-yard season but has far less mileage on his career odometer (331 carries) compared to Harris (1,097). The Steelers and Cowboys, respectively, still have until March 10 to conduct exclusive negotiations with their starters. The Steelers would stand to have a low ceiling on where they want to go with Harris, as they passed on an option year worth $6.79MM and did not see him deliver a contract year out of step with his previous work.

While Harris may still be in Pittsburgh’s plans, Dulac adds the team will follow through on tendering Warren, who is a restricted free agent. A second-round tender is projected to cost more than $5MM, which could lead the Steelers to take their chances with the low-end number — one that would not bring any compensation back in the event Pittsburgh did not match a Warren offer sheet — to conserve cash. A reality in which the Steelers pay Harris would point to Warren being given the low-end tender.

Steelers Rumors: Wilson, Pickens, RBs

December 8th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

We’ve touched a bit recently on the Steelers’ intention to re-sign veteran quarterback Russell Wilson and even touched a bit on the possibilities for his free agent stock, but recent reports have gone even further in reassuring that the intent is for Wilson to continue starting into the 2025 NFL season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

This is a small specification, as clearly, if they wanted him to stick around, he was probably going to continue to be the starter. But with the younger Justin Fields also having a decent showing during his tenure as the starter earlier this year, there was certainly a chance that Wilson was acting as a placeholder for a developing Fields. After Fields opened the season with a 4-2 start, many were curious why the Steelers wouldn’t stick with the hot hand.

Wilson, though, has gone 5-1 since taking over as the starter, giving Pittsburgh a couple of options for the future. When Fields was starting, he was acting mostly as a game manager for a middling offense, but when Wilson came in, the offense exploded into production. Wilson’s chemistry with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has been the difference and given Wilson a clear road to a permanent starting job in Pittsburgh.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of the Steel City:

In a recent Q&A on X, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic gave an answer on the future of leading wide receiver George Pickens. While Pickens’ immaturity can get in his own way at times, Kaboly believes the youth and talent of the 23-year-old are enough to warrant an extension in the near future, predicting a good chance that it happens.
In a different Q&A, Kaboly also made a prediction on the team’s future at running back. With both Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris in contract years, Kaboly calls it a “no brainer” that Pittsburgh tenders an offer to Warren. He goes on to say that he doesn’t see Harris back with the team next year, unless the free agent market doesn’t provide much competition for him, and he returns for a year on a “prove it” deal. It’s an interesting stance given the difference in production between the two this year, but many analysts have favored Warren in recent years, and the Steelers may be on the same page.

Steelers GM Omar Khan Addresses Fifth-Year Option Decision On RB Najee Harris

June 15th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Steelers elected not to pick up Najee Harris‘ fifth-year option this offseason, leaving him on track for free agency in 2025. Pittsburgh’s lead back thus faces an uncertain future, but the door is open to an agreement keeping him in Pittsburgh beyond the coming campaign.

Harris would have been due $6.79MM in 2025 had the option been exercised, something the Steelers were once expected to do. Instead, his play this year will go a long way in determining his value on the open market. When speaking about the decision, general manager Omar Khan confirmed the Alabama product could still find himself in the team’s plans.

“It was a business decision that we had to make,” Khan said during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan (h/t NFL.com). “But Najee’s awesome to have around here. Love Najee as a player and a person. Just because we didn’t pick it up doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee long term… We just felt right now that was the right decision for everyone. I love Najee. I’d love to have him here long term.”

The second-year general manager noted last summer that the nature of the modern quarterback market has a dramatic effect on roster-building at other positions. QB prices continue to rise, and running backs are prime candidates to be limited to rookie contract investments from a team perspective. That is the case for both Harris and Jaylen Warren at the moment, and the latter has proven to be an efficient backfield option in two years to date (5.1 yards per carry average vs. Harris’ 3.9).

Pittsburgh has a rather cost-effective QB room for at least one year, but new deals will be needed to keep Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields in place for 2025 and beyond. Neither passer should be expected to approach the top of the position’s market on a Steelers re-up, but devoting additional cap resources to one or both would limit the funds available to retaining Harris. Running backs in general have struggled to land lucrative multi-year deals in recent years, and it would be interesting to see if team and player pursued a short-term agreement of some kind down the road.

A Harris re-signing would not come as a complete surprise, and Khan’s remarks confirm it will at least be considered. Plenty is still to be determined, of course, and how the Steelers value the running back position with Khan at the helm will be worth watching closely as the 2024 season unfolds leading into a potential Harris departure.

Steelers Notes: Fields, Harris, WR2

June 9th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Rory Parks

Last month, there was some chatter that Steelers quarterback Justin Fields could see some action as a kick returner in 2024, with special teams coordinator Danny Smith raising the possibility at a team meeting. Steelers beat reporters were quick to throw cold water on the notion, and Fields himself recently did the same.

While acknowledging that Smith did indeed bring up the idea of having him return kicks, Fields said, “nah, I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong. Coach Danny was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example” (via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

Even if Fields is not deployed as a third phase player, his athleticism could be an asset in other ways, especially since Russell Wilson is expected to at least open the regular season as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback. However, as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted during a recent chat with fans, head coach Mike Tomlin is not fond of taking out his starting QB to run gadget-type plays. Of course, the team would not necessarily need to remove Wilson from the game in order to take advantage of Fields’ athletic gifts, so it will be interesting to see whether OC Arthur Smith designs a package of plays for Fields as the 2021 first-rounder tries to unseat Wilson and prove that he can be the club’s long-term starter under center.

In that same conversation with fans, Dulac predicted that the Steelers will extend running back Najee Harris. Back in January, we heard that Pittsburgh was planning to exercise Harris’ fifth-year option, which would have kept him under club control through 2025. However, the Steelers ultimately reversed course and declined the option, which puts their RB1 on track to hit free agency next year.

Harris has been a model of durability and consistency throughout his three-year professional tenure, starting all 17 regular season games and topping 1,000 rushing yards each year. On the other hand, his heavy usage and efficiency issues — he has a career YPC rate of just 3.9 — likely informed the team’s decision to decline his option.

Despite their passing on the option, we heard that the Steelers would nonetheless be open to working out a deal that would keep Harris in the fold beyond 2024. The team’s policy of not negotiating contracts in-season and Harris’ own public frustrations with running backs having to settle for team-friendly pacts would seem to work against such a deal coming to fruition, so Dulac’s prediction is a noteworthy one.

Speaking of predictions from longtime Pittsburgh beats, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic says it would demonstrate “a lack of awareness and urgency if [the Steelers] don’t add a legit No. 2 [wide receiver] before the season starts,” and he believes the club will do just that (subscription required). Kaboly does not hazard a guess as to whom the Steelers might pursue, and 49ers GM John Lynch said his team is no longer talking trades involving Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk (Pittsburgh was one of the clubs eyeing Samuel).

Needless to say, a trade could come together at any time, and the trade market would seem to be a more likely source of WR2 talent than the free agent pool at this point in the year. At present, Hunter Renfrow (who is more of a slot option) and Michael Thomas (who has not turned in a healthy, productive season since 2019) profile as two of the top free agents available. In the meantime, players like Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, Marquez Callaway, Denzel Mims, and third-round rookie Roman Wilson are competing for reps behind George Pickens.

Steelers To Decline RB Najee Harris’ Fifth-Year Option

May 2nd, 2024 at 10:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

A report from January indicated the Steelers would likely pick up running back Najee Harris‘ fifth-year option. The team has instead gone in the other direction, per multiple reports. Harris is thus on track for free agency next offseason.

As is the case with all backs drafted early, Harris faced massive expectations upon arrival in Pittsburgh. The Alabama product earned a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie, totaling 1,200 rushing yards while also hauling in 74 receptions. Over the past two seasons, Pittsburgh’s offense has regressed in the passing game but Harris’ ground production has remained steady.

The 26-year-old racked up 1,034 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 2022, recording one more yard and one more score on the ground this past season. Harris has, however, done so while logging a substantial workload and struggling with efficiency. His yards per carry average sits at 3.9 for his career, and he has logged 978 touches through three years. Especially given the market at the RB position, concerns related to his durability may have informed the Steelers’ decision.

Pittsburgh would have owed Harris $6.79MM next season by picking up the option. Today’s move leaves that off the table, although ESPN’s Brooke Pryor reports the team is still open to working out a deal keeping him in place beyond 2024. Needless to say, much will depend on Harris’ performance this season as he shares time with Jaylen Warren.

The latter played sparingly as a rookie in 2022, but he took on a notable role last season. Warren averaged 5.3 yards per carry while adding 61 receptions for 370 yards in the passing game. That has led to calls for the former UDFA to receive a larger share of the Steelers’ offense than Harris, and it will be interesting to see how new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith divvies up the work between the two. Given the team’s heavy investments up front during this year’s draft, Pittsburgh is set up for a ground-heavy attack.

While this decision creates a degree of uncertainty in the backfield, the same is true under center entering the 2024 season. The Steelers have also declined Justin Fields‘ option, leaving he and projected starter Russell Wilson on track for free agency next offseason. How Pittsburgh’s offense takes shape – and the degree to which Harris is involved – will be a key storyline to follow.

2025 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker

April 24th, 2024 at 10:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

NFL teams have until May 2 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2021 first-rounders. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of the player’s position, initial draft placement and performance- and usage-based benchmarks:

Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternates) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag
One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag
Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th-highest salaries at their position:
- At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
- A 75% snap average across all three seasons
- At least 50% in each of first three seasons
Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position

With the deadline looming, we will use the space below to track all the option decisions from around the league:

QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars ($25.66MM): Exercised
QB Zach Wilson, Broncos* ($22.41MM): Declined
QB Trey Lance, Cowboys** ($22.41MM): Declined
TE Kyle Pitts, Falcons ($10.88MM): Exercised
WR Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals ($21.82MM): Exercised
WR Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins ($15.59MM): Exercised
T Penei Sewell, Lions ($19MM): Extended through 2029
CB Jaycee Horn, Panthers ($12.47MM): Exercised
CB Patrick Surtain, Broncos ($19.82MM): Exercised
WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles ($15.59MM): Extended through 2028
QB Justin Fields, Steelers*** ($25.66MM): Declined
DE Micah Parsons, Cowboys ($21.32MM): Exercised
T Rashawn Slater, Chargers ($19MM): Exercised
OL Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jets ($13.31MM): Exercised
QB Mac Jones, Jaguars**** ($25.66MM): Declined
LB Zaven Collins, Cardinals ($13.25MM): Declined
T Alex Leatherwood, Raiders: N/A
LB Jaelan Phillips, Dolphins ($13.3MM): Exercised
LB Jamin Davis, Commanders ($14.48MM): Declined
WR Kadarius Toney, Chiefs***** ($14.35MM): Declined
DE Kwity Paye, Colts ($13.4MM): Exercised
CB Caleb Farley, Titans ($12.47MM): Declined
T Christian Darrisaw, Vikings ($16MM): Exercised
RB Najee Harris, Steelers ($6.79MM): Declined
RB Travis Etienne, Jaguars ($6.14MM): Exercised
CB Greg Newsome, Browns ($13.38MM): To be exercised
WR Rashod Bateman, Ravens ($14.35MM): N/A; extended through 2026
DE Payton Turner, Saints ($13.39MM): Declined
CB Eric Stokes, Packers ($12.47MM): Declined
DE Greg Rousseau, Bills ($13.39MM): Exercised
LB Odafe Oweh, Ravens ($13.25MM): Exercised
LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Buccaneers ($13.25MM): Declined

* = Jets traded Wilson on April 22, 2024
** = 49ers traded Lance on August 25, 2023
*** = Bears traded Fields on March 16, 2024
**** = Patriots traded Jones on March 10, 2024
***** = Giants traded Toney on October 27, 2022

Steelers Expected To Exercise RB Najee Harris’ Fifth-Year Option

January 28th, 2024 at 12:17pm CST by Rory Parks

The Steelers are expected to exercise running back Najee Harris‘ fifth-year option prior to the May 2 deadline, per Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (subscription required). That maneuver would give Harris a fully-guaranteed salary of $6.66MM for the 2025 season (he is due to earn $2.44MM in 2024 on the fourth and final year of his rookie contract).

The running back market has notoriously grown stagnant in recent years, and Harris was one of the high-profile RBs to publicly voice his frustration with that trend. In June, Pittsburgh GM Omar Khan suggested that surging prices for quarterbacks naturally create the need to cut costs on other areas of the roster, and like his fellow top execs, Khan might not have an appetite for authorizing a lucrative second contract for a running back in light of the position’s high attrition rate, especially for workhorse backs like Harris.

Of course, the Steelers are in quarterback limbo at the moment, as 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett has struggled through his first two professional seasons, and Mitchell Trubisky is the only other quarterback under club control for 2024. But regardless of whether the Steelers add a notable QB contract to their books this offseason, the relatively small fifth-year salary for Harris in 2025 should be easy enough to absorb. Whether extension talks take place between now and the end of the 2025 campaign, however, is an entirely different story.

Mason Rudolph, who just finished a one-year veteran minimum deal, was inserted into the starting lineup in Week 16 after Trubisky struggled in relief of an injured Pickett. That switch coincided with a heavier reliance on the running game, as Harris tallied 72 carries over the final three contests of the regular season and racked up 312 yards (4.33 YPC) and four TDs in the process. Efficiency had been a problem for Harris, but that productive stretch helped him finish the year with a YPC over 4.0 for the first time in his career and underscored his potential upside. Whomever the Steelers hire as their next OC should have a productive RB tandem in Harris and Jaylen Warren, who was a UDFA in 2022 and who is therefore entering a platform campaign.

Another decision that Khan will have to make this offseason is not as clear as the call to pick up Harris’ option. We recently heard that stalwart DT Cam Heyward may be contemplating retirement following a 2023 season marred by a serious groin injury, and while Kaboly says Heyward would like to return for at least one more season (subscription required), the decision is not his alone. The Steelers can cut the six-time Pro Bowler and save roughly $10MM against the 2024 salary cap after accounting for dead money, but as Kaboly notes, ownership would probably rather eat Heyward’s salary than release him given what he has meant to the franchise.

In other words, if Heyward is able to continue playing, the team will welcome him back. Although Kaboly does not say so, it is presumably still possible that player and team work out a short-term extension to smooth out Heyward’s $22MM cap hit in 2024.

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