Steelers Meet With Najee Harris' Agent

While both members of the Pittsburgh Steelers' running back tandem are primed to reach free agency, the team may not see a ton of turnover at the position this offseason.

With Jaylen Warren's chances of returning appearing rather high as a restricted free agent, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac has also reported that the Steelers have met with Najee Harris' camp at the NFL Combine and are considering bringing him back into the fold.

"General manager Omar Khan has met with Doug Hendrickson of Wasserman Sports, Harris’ representative, about the possibility of re-signing their former No. 1 draft choice, who is an unrestricted free agent," Dulac wrote.

After having his fifth-year option declined last May, Harris ran for 1,043 yards and six touchdowns while adding 36 receptions for 283 yards in 2024.

Given how well Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs performed after signing big deals in free agency last offseason, Harris could be a hot commodity this time around as one of the top running backs on the market while teams look to capture that same magic.

Dulac added that Harris has the backing of head coach Mike Tomlin, who is a fan of his "toughness, durability and productivity," but Pittsburgh's resolution on the matter may ultimately come down to how much money it's willing to dish out.

"Part of the decision is how much it would cost the team to re-sign Harris, who is likely to command between $7 million and $10 million annually," Dulac wrote. "That would seem to be a strange move for the Steelers after they already declined picking up his fifth-year option for 2025, which would have cost them $6.7 million."

The Steelers aren't exactly hurting for cap space, as they currently have $60.073 million ahead of the new league year per Over the Cap, but perhaps they wouldn't feel comfortable allocating a large chunk of those availabe funds to Harris.

At the same time though, he's been nothing short of a workhorse for the team since breaking into the league as a first-round pick in 2021, logging 4,312 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns over his four-year career while never missing a single game.

As one of Pittsburgh's top impending free agents, it'll be interesting to see how it navigates Harris' situation in the coming weeks.

Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI to get all your daily Pittsburgh Steelers news, interviews, breakdowns and more!