The Pittsburgh Steelers passed on the chance to make sure running back Najee Harris remained with the team through the 2025 NFL season.
On Wednesday, Harris reported to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for his fourth – and what might be his final – training camp with the Steelers.
The former Alabama All-American talked with reporters for the first time about Pittsburgh’s decision to decline its fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
“I was disappointed for a minute,” Harris said, “but, I mean, it’s nothing really where 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’ve got to keep 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, so, yeah, I was for a minute, a couple of days, then it just went past my mind so fast.”
The 24th selection of the 2021 NFL Draft, Harris joined the Steelers on a four-year, $13.047 million contract.
Each first-round draft pick signs a four-year contract that carries a team option for a fifth season. But that option must be exercised before the player’s fourth season. For the 2021 first-rounders, the deadline to do so passed at 3 p.m. CDT May 2.
While tying Harris to Pittsburgh for an extra season, the fifth-year option would have guaranteed Harris a salary of $6.79 million for the 2025 campaign. That’s the average of the third- through 20th-highest salaries for running backs over the past five seasons.
Harris will be paid $2.439 million in 2024, which ranks 30th among running backs this season.
In June, Steelers general manager Omar Khan called declining the fifth-year option on Harris’ contract “a business decision.”
Harris said he was told Pittsburgh failed to exercise its option because “they didn’t know where the offense was headed.”
During the offseason, the Steelers brought in former Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator and added quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
Harris said he doesn’t take extra motivation from Pittsburgh’s decision.
“I don’t need somebody to tell me what I can and can’t do,” Harris said. “That doesn’t motivate me or anything. I’ve already had my motivation since I was a kid. It’s nothing new to me. I’ve been in this spotlight, in this position pretty much all my life, ever since I was a kid, so this is nothing new – just more cameras and interviews and questions.”
RELATED: NAJEE HARRIS’ MESSAGE FOR NICK SABAN, KALEN DEBOER AND THE PLAYERS WHO LEFT ALABAMA
In 2023, Harris became the 18th player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. Harris has 834 rushing attempts for 3,269 yards and 22 touchdowns and 144 receptions for 866 yards and six touchdowns during his NFL career.
Only three other players in NFL history have had as many rushing yards and receptions as Harris in their first three seasons — Pro Football Hall of Fame members Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson and former Auburn standout William Andrews.
Pittsburgh still could retain Harris by working out a contract extension with the running back. But the Steelers will need to do so before he becomes an unrestricted free agent when his current contract expires in March.
Harris said he “most definitely” would prefer to stay with Pittsburgh.
“I like it here in Pittsburgh,” Harris said. “I like Coach (Mike) T(omlin), Mr. (Art) Rooney, Omar, even (general manager) Kevin Colbert when he was here. It’s a good city. Obviously, the people here are nice and are welcoming.
“But, you know, it’s a business. It comes and goes. Like I said, I’ve been around this stuff all my life, and what I always take from it is I’ve always been in the driver’s seat of this and God’s been steering it and wherever he stops the car is wherever I’m working at. If it’s here or somewhere else, by all means, I’m going to do everything I can for that team. That’s just the mindset you got to have with this sport.”
A two-time 1,000-yard rusher for Alabama, Harris earned unanimous All-American recognition, won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back and set an SEC single-season touchdown record for the Crimson Tide’s unbeaten CFP national-championship team in 2020.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
