In something of a shocking piece of news this offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers chose to decline the fifth-year option on running back Najee Harris. This means Harris will play out the 2024 season and could then hit free agency.
There have been rumors about how all these things came about and whether or not the decision to decline Harris’ option was his idea or not. Head coach Mike Tomlin talked about the situation during OTAs this week and offered nothing in terms of clarification on the situation instead opting for coach speak and Tomlin-isms.
#Steelers Mike Tomlin on not picking up Najee Harris’ option pic.twitter.com/KidJ1veoNM
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) May 21, 2024
Tomlin spoke of depths of waters and layers and other “things of that nature” as he likes to say but it’s all just gobbledegook. The most obvious answer is the Steelers want to see what Harris can do in comparison to Jaylen Warren in this new offense before they commit big money to him. They are betting on not needing to pay him in free agency and Harris is betting on someone paying him big money.
