Pittsburgh Steelers decline to pick up RB Najee Harris' fifth-year option

The Steelers opted not to to pick up the fifth-year option for running back Najee Harris, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2021.

Thursday was the deadline for teams to notify the NFL of what they planned to do with their first-round picks of the class of 2021. All rookies sign a four-year contract. But first-rounders also have a fifth-year option. The fifth year, in this case, is for 2025.

The fifth year for Harris, the former Alabama star, was for $6.65 million. So it was relatively cheap to make the move. With Thursday’s decision, Harris will be a free agent at the end of the season. The decision doesn’t preclude the Steelers from signing Harris at the end of this coming season.

Gerry Dulac, who covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported the news.

Steelers declined option year on RB Najee Harris, per sources.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) May 2, 2024

The Steelers utilized both Harris and Jaylen Warren in their ground game in 2023. And the running game was the most consistent part of their otherwise mostly mundane offense.

Pittsburgh made some wholesale changes in the offseason to retune the offense. The Steelers hired Arthur Smith, the former Falcons head coach, as the team’s new offensive coordinator. Pittsburgh then got rid of all quarterbacks from last season, trading Kenny Pickett to the Eagles and not re-signing Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky.

Pickett became expendable when the Steelers signed Russell Wilson, then traded with the Bears for Justin Fields. Both quarterbacks are mobile. Fields might be the top running quarterback in the NFL, although Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray would object.

With a quarterback who can go off schedule with scrambles, the opposing defenses can’t focus as much on the running backs. So Harris and Wright could exploit that.

Harris was the 24th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. And since he joined the Steelers, 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.

His 1,035 yards ranked seventh in the NFL. And he saved his best two games for the final contests of the regular season. He gained 112 against the Ravens in a playoff-clinching win. And he rushed for 122 against the Seahawks.

Harris also became the first Pittsburgh running back to gain at least 1,000 yards for his first three years with the team.