Najee Harris: 'I was disappointed' when Steelers didn't pick up 5th-year option
Najee Harris and the rest of his Steelers teammates reported to training camp, Wednesday. And the running back found himself as the center of attention as players checked into their dorm rooms.
It was all because Harris really hadn’t spoken about what happened in May, when the Steelers opted not to pick up the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. He has no idea whether this will be the last summer he spends at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. If the running back and Pittsburgh management don’t agree to a long term deal, then Harris will be a free agent at the end of the season.
A reporter asked Harris what the Steelers told him after they’d made the decision about the option. It would’ve increased his salary to $6.65 million for 2025.
“Let me think. It was, they didn’t know where the offense was headed,” Harris told reporters. “That was it.”
He added: “I was disappointed for a minute, but I mean like, there’s nothing really where, you know, me sitting around being disappointed for too long would do anything to help me out. … I think that it is what it is. And you just got to keep it pushing and knowing that coming out here and doing what’s best for the team and having a good year is what’s most important right now. … Yeah, I was (disappointed) for a minute, like a couple of days, and it just went past my mind so fast.”
Harris said he prefers to stay with Steelers after this season
The Steelers selected Harris, the former Alabama star, with the 24th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Since he joined the team, he’s rushed for 1,000 yards or more each season. It took him to the final game in 2023 to surpass 1,000. He did so against the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh’s arch rival. Still, he became the first running back for the Steelers who gained 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons of his career.
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All total, Harris rushed for 1,035 yards last season. That ranked seventh in the NFL. He saved his best two games for the final contests of the regular season to help Pittsburgh with its playoff push. He gained 112 against the Ravens in a playoff-clinching win. And he rushed for 122 against the Seahawks.
Harris told reporters he would prefer to stay in Pittsburgh, but did so with a shrug.
“I like it here in Pittsburgh, I like Coach T, Mr. Rooney, Omar (Khan),” Harris said, as he rattled off everyone from Mike Tomlin to the team owner and general manager.
“It’s a good city, the people here are nice and welcoming,” he said. “But you know, it’s a business. This comes and goes in your life. Been around this stuff all my life, what I try and take from this is I’ve always been in the driver’s seat for this (with) God steering it. And where ever He stops the car is where ever I’m working at. If He stops it here, by all means, I’m going to do whatever I can for that team. It’s what you gotta have for this sport.”
The Steelers will finish installing Arthur Smith’s new offense at training camp. Pittsburgh changed all its quarterbacks, while adding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. However, they left the running back group as is. Harris and Jaylen Warren are a one-two punch for the Steelers.