The biggest question of the Steelers offseason has to do with how they’ll handle the quarterback position and somewhere behind that is what they’ll do regarding their option on running back Najee Harris’ contract for the 2025 season.
Picking up the option would set Harris up to make $6.79 million during his fifth NFL season. Harris has posted 3,269 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns since joining the team as a 2021 first-round pick, but General Manager Omar Khan said that he, head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith are still working out what they want the offense to look like in Pittsburgh.
“We have until the first week in May to make a decision,” Khan said at a press conference from the Scouting Combine, via SteelersDepot.com. “We have a new offensive coordinator, so that’s gonna play into the decision-making process. We’re having conversations with Arthur. It’s been great. We’ve been engaging frequently — coach Tomlin and Arthur and I — we’ve kind of been talking about the offense and what the vision is for it. And we think very highly of Najee and we’ll make the decision before May 2.”
Smith used Derrick Henry to great success as the offensive coordinator in Tennessee and his last two Falcons teams ran the ball a lot, so Harris would seem to fit some part of the vision in Pittsburgh. How big a part will likely determine whether the team moves forward with him for a fifth season.
