Coming into the offseason, most Pittsburgh Steelers fans expected Najee Harris to leave in free agency. It wasn’t surprising when he signed elsewhere in Los Angeles. What is surprising, however, is the fact that he’s becoming one of the biggest storylines as of late. A few days ago, Harris spoke to KCAL News and mentioned a few things that may have held him back during his time in Pittsburgh.
Specifically, he spoke about a lack of veteran leadership on the offensive side of the ball. That’s drawn a lot of attention, and on Thursday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agreed with Harris’ thoughts.
“I’m not the least bit surprised, what Najee is saying is not wrong,” Mackey said on the Post-Gazette Penn State podcast. “I don’t blame him for feeling that way. If I’m Najee Harris, I’m looking at the Steelers’ situation and saying ‘They did not get the most out of me’… For whatever reason, the Steelers were not able to take advantage of that.”
The writing seemed to be on the wall when the Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option. He played through the 2024 season and had similar production compared to his previous three years as a Steeler. For a brief moment in the beginning of the offseason, there was speculation that he might return. However, considering the low base salary of just over $5 million he received from the Chargers, it doesn’t seem like the Steelers were that interested.
Harris made headlines about a week ago, as well. During his introductory press conference, he made remarks about how nice the Chargers’ practice facility was and hinted that his versatility wasn’t utilized as well as it could have been in Pittsburgh. None of those are major shots at the Steelers, but it’s hard to ignore his underlying message.
At the end of the day, it’s surprising that Harris is becoming this much of a topic of conversation. But can you blame him? It’s not uncommon for players to have some extra motivation when a team declines their fifth-year option.
A similar situation to this happened last offseason with Josh Jacobs and the Raiders. Las Vegas declined his fifth-year option and let Jacobs walk in free agency. Jacobs took some shots at Las Vegas after signing with the Packers and then had a great season. So, it’s not like Harris’ comments are especially demeaning, as players will say these kinds of things if they feel slighted. And in both their cases, they’re probably right.
However you feel about this, one thing is true. The Steelers could have handled both of the things Harris mentions in better fashion. Yes, the logistics of upgrading a practice facility have some complications. But there’s no reason for the Steelers to be consistently ranked as one of the worst teams in the league in that department. The Steelers haven’t developed their players at skill positions as well as they could have, either. Harris has his gripes, but they’re not just coming out of left field.
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