It came as a bit of a surprise, considering the start of the season is just a few days away and he didn’t seem like much of a priority, but the two-year contract extension that running back Jaylen Warren landed from the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday was well deserved.
Warren became the first Steelers running back since Willie Parker to receive a second contract from the team, and like Parker, Warren went from undrafted free agent to key piece of the offense. Now, he’s tied to the Steelers for the foreseeable future, and that has teammate and captain Cameron Heyward could not be happier for Warren.
On the latest episode of his Not Just Football podcast, Heyward praised Warren’s work ethic and his determination to make it from UDFA to starting NFL running back.
“When you hear about Jaylen Warren’s story and to know he was undrafted and went to rookie camp, and when you’re not drafted and you’re going to a rookie camp, you’re facing an uphill battle,” Heyward said of Warren’s contract extension, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “And to watch him just climb over every hill and continue to just keep getting better and show him what he can and being responsible for some of the right things in our locker room, the right things going forward, I’m happy.
“I’m really happy for this kid. He has a bright future. He works his tail off, wants to be great. A lot of guys can learn from how he goes about his work. He’s a mighty mouse. He’s one of our short kings, I like to say. But it’s really nice to see a guy rewarded like that.”
The Warren extension wasn’t really on the radar, especially after the Steelers selected Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Iowa, giving Pittsburgh what many believe is its bell-cow running back moving forward.
But with Warren’s pass-blocking abilities, and his work as a pass-catching running back, not to mention his ability to make defenders miss and run with serious power in his smaller stature, Warren is a guy the Steelers clearly targeted to keep around as their backfield continues to change shape.
How Warren got to this position is rather remarkable, too. He went undrafted in 2022 after bouncing around in college before having a strong season with Oklahoma State. Then, he went to the Steelers’ rookie minicamp and really started to make a name for himself.
That work carried over into OTAs, minicamp, training camp and then the preseason, helping him force his way onto the roster. Once there, Warren hasn’t looked back.
He’s been an impactful running back since Day 1, finding ways to get onto the field in all situations. Though ball security and durability remain question marks, there’s no doubting Warren’s talents and what he brings to the Black and Gold.
It’s a move that has many happy inside the facility, keeping a guy who has worked hard to get where he is and rewarding him with life-changing money. Now, it’s up to Warren to show that extension was the right move by the Steelers.
Check out the full episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward below.
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