Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II isn’t opposed to bringing back running back Najee Harris after declining his fifth-year option.
The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to decline the fifth-year option of running back Najee Harris in May, hinting it could be his last season in the black and gold. President Art Rooney II isn’t ready to completely shut the door on a return, however.
On Monday, Rooney acknowledged that while Harris will likely have other opportunities to evaluate on the open market this offseason, he’d be happy to have the former first-round pick back at the right price.
“Najee’s a good player and we’ll evaluate whether we can bring him back. He’s going to have choices, too. It’s a position that is important to us,” Rooney said. “We have a job opening in that room that we’re going to have to fill. Whether it’s Najee or somebody else, it’s going to be an important position.”
The value of running backs has been long-debated, but this season, some of the league’s top backs proved to be worth their contracts and then some.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry are two examples of paying the right players. Both players have helped lead their teams to deep runs in the playoffs.
Barkley rushed for a league-leading 2,005 yards and is a big reason why the Eagles are the NFC’s representative in Super Bowl LIX. Henry rushed for 1,921 yards, helping the Ravens to reach the divisional round of the playoffs.
“Obviously, it’s important to some other teams that have had success this year,” Rooney said. “So maybe it’s not as devalued as some might have thought.”
Harris hasn’t had that type of production, but he did surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in each of his first four seasons.
It remains to be seen what type of money the 26-year-old will warrant on the open market, but it will likely be more than what his $6.790 million option would have cost.
Will the Steelers be willing to give him that kind of payday?
Probably not, but Rooney still wants to see the Steelers have a reliable run game and Harris has given them the closest thing to that, given the pieces around him the past four years.
“We’ve got to build on the strengths that we can put together,” Rooney said. “I still think that running the ball is a route to success, particularly when you are playing in the North and outside.”
