The Pittsburgh Steelers got to work on Monday, preparing to take on the New York Jets in Week One of the regular season. This wasn’t all the team was doing as they also signed starting running back Jaylen Warren to a new three-year contract. Warren was set to hit free agency at the end of the season.
Warren’s contract is a 3-year deal worth, $17.25 million, which will pay him $7 million this season and contains $12 million in guarantees. This is the first contract extension the Steelers have given to a running back since they gave Willie Parker an extension in 2006,
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Here are some quick takeaways from the new contract.
The Steelers aren’t sold on Kaleb Johnson
We aren’t saying Pittsburgh doesn’t see the potential in rookie Kaleb Johnson but you have to wonder if this last-minute signing wasn’t prompted at least in part by the sluggish performance by Johnson in the preseason.
Pittsburgh’s faith in Warren
When Warren starts on Sunday against the Jets, it will be his first NFL start. Warren has always been a Complementary back for Najee Harris and despite flashing more explosion was never given the opportunity. Now the pressure is on him to not only take over that lead role but live up to the new contract.
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The run game will be the focus
Even before this contract, we expected the Steelers to really emphasize the run this season, but Warren’s new deal just adds to that expectation.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: 3 takeaways from Steelers RB Jaylen Warren’s new contract