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Gerry Dulac on X “Steelers declined option year on RB Najee Harris, per sources”

  • May 2, 2024


Gerry Dulac on X “Steelers declined option year on RB Najee Harris, per sources”

40 comments

  1. Wild. Didn’t expect this, fully expected the 5th year option to get picked up. I wonder what khans cooking then? My guess is extending him but who knows

  3. Not sure what more Najee could of done for a fifth year, honestly. He’s pretty much been as advertised behind a miserable OL and looked considerably better and more dominant when the Steelers gave him a tackle who gave a shit.

  4. 6mil too expensive ?

    This is a weird one, especially with how much cap we have…

  6. He tweeted out they’re gonna wait to see how the RBs perform in the new offense. I get it, but if Naj has a good season, he’ll cost more than $6.8 mil.

  8. Maybe they’re working on a deal that would keep the hit down and that’s why they aren’t picking this

  10. First offseason move we’ve made that I’m really not a fan of at all. Unless we get an extension done soon, this seems more likely to just end up costing us more in the next few years, whether in terms of replacing him or paying him after this season.

  11. Baby Huey is the leader of the offense. This seems like an unforced error.

  12. Its clear that Khan is moving on from the non-elite Colbert guys (Pickett, Najee, Diontae, Wallace, Edmunds, Chuks etc)

  14. On the one hand, this has proven to be a great tactic with other RBs to get career years out of them.

    On the other hand, Najee Harris is the first back since Alfred Morris to start his career with three 1,000-yard seasons.

    We will just have to see. I could go either way on this one.

  16. Steelers love to run an RB into the ground and then not sign them lol. Najee will probably go for 1k+ rushing yards again and then they’ll roll with Warren and another guy from the draft. Steelers don’t paid RBs, the rest of the NFL has followed.

  17. I have to think they’re going to want to get an extension done this offseason. I think with the revamped line, Najee’s price tag should go up considerably after this season. So even if you accepted the option, if he balled out this year, he most likely would’ve refused to play on a one year contract with zero insurance, which means we would’ve had to pay him big money. By declining the option, I think Khan wants to get ahead of things and sign him to about $10M-12M annually for 3, maybe even 4 years. Short term, you’ll be paying more for him in year 5 than you would’ve, but long term, you save money. At least that’s what I think is happening here.

  18. Not a fan of this move. Though to there credit they’ve found good RBs in the 2nd and 3rd round. 4th and beyond, though? Haven’t been great.

    And the Steelers aren’t the only ones who’ve struggled with that either

  19. I’m not sure about this one tbh

    seems more obvious than ever they’re saving that cap space for SOMETHING

  20. If neither Najee or Freiermuth get an extension before next season starts, I’m going to be fairly confused/concerned about the future of our offensive skill positions.

  21. Potentially idiotic if he continues playing well. But maybe they are happy to take that chance and sign him to a bigger deal after he does well again. I really don’t see a world where Tomlin doesn’t want this guy in the locker room as long as possible.

  23. I’m surprised by this too. There’s a small chance they could extend him at a lower rate than 6m a year, but that seems unlikely that Najee would take that. I don’t think you could sign a better back for 6m, so that means they plan on spending a pick on a RB and extending Warren for cheaper than you could extend Najee.

  24. Najee kinda mid. Show me collection of 30-40 yd runs and I’ll be shocked. 2-3 yds and slow..

  25. Top 10 in YPC last season among qualifying RBs

    1) CMC (1st round, generational back)

    2) Jaylen Warren (undrafted)

    3) Jahmyr Gibbs (1st round, also had an elite oline)

    4) Kyren Williams (5th round)

    5) James Conner (3rd round)

    6) Raheem Mostert (undrafted)

    7) James Cook (2nd round)

    8) D’Andre Swift (2nd round, had the best line in the league)

    9) David Montgomery (3rd round)

    10) Bijan Robinson (1st round, generational prospect)

    So the takeaways: look at number 2, and look at how many were day 2 and beyond (7/10). Unless you’re getting a generational player like CMC, there is no reason to allocate significant cap or draft compensation to the RB position. The ONLY players on the list who have a higher cap hit this year than Najee’s option would be are CMC and Conner.

    It simply doesn’t make sense to sign RBs to even above average contracts. I like Najee and he’s a great dude, but unless he has his first high volume, high efficiency season it’s just not worth the money

  27. Very perplexed as to why they declined his option. Accepting his fifth year options gives you an extra year of flexibility and if you really think he’s expendable, use this year and next offseason to find a replacement before he goes. Now he’s gonna cost more if he’s indeed better or worse, you lose him for nothing.

    And to everyone who thinks Warren is just better, I’m willing to bet he performs at a lower level if he’s the feature guy. Just like Tony Pollard in Dallas.

  28. Unless we extend him, I’m not a fan of the move. But then again I’m not a GM, so

  29. This is ridiculous in my opinion. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Najee have 3 straight 1000 yard seasons, which is the most in the NFL? And that was with a shitty offensive line and coordinator. Now we are on the verge of having a really good O-line, and have a proven coordinator that could potentially get even more out of Najee. I would completely understand if he had a history of injuries and/or was commanding too much money in relation to his skill set, but I personally think that he’s worth it. I hope that a long term extension can happen before the beginning of the season, but I’m pretty annoyed right now.

  30. I’m assuming it’s because we are working on an extension. If not, then this would be the 2nd questionable move we have made this off-season

  31. So both najee and Warren will be free agents next year (warren is rfa)..

  32. Hope we get this sorted out. Najee is incredibly underrated and always plays his best down the stretch. He’s a December back.

    In a league where most running backs are expendable, great ones are hard to find!

  34. I don’t think cost was the major issue here. There are a couple of things that come to mind for this decision:

    1. We have a new OC who runs a lot of outside zone concepts and Najee is more of a between the tackles runner. So hes not a perfect fit for Smiths scheme
    2. He has been solid for us but not great and plays a position that is easy to find talent.
    3. His skillset is far from irreplaceable and would probably not demand much money on the open market.
    4. We have Jaylen Warren, who might be a better player and fit for our offense and is also going to need a new contract next year.

  35. Sucks for Naj. He’s been such a rock for us. Hoping for a healthy and dominant season for him and a big pay day next year.

  36. Hmm. Trying very hard to trust the process here. Najee did everything he was supposed to behind an awful line and Tomlin absolutely adores him from a leadership standpoint. I hope he gets an extension.

  37. Hmm. Trying very hard to trust the process here. Najee did everything he was supposed to behind an awful line and Tomlin absolutely adores him from a leadership standpoint. I hope he gets an extension.

  39. Hopefully this disrespect today doesn’t affect Najee’s effort this season.

  40. Ik for a fact Tomlin is banging his fist on the table for Najee. Proven leader, durable, and productive.

    Take the under on an extension happening.

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