‘It’s All Fueling His Fire’: Steelers Star RB Dropping Weight Ahead of Contract Year
- The Steelers declined the fifth-year option on running back Najee Harris, making him a free agent after 2024.
- Harris’ trainer has said the running back has dropped weight in the offseason.
- Uncertainty at QB position leaves Steelers unable to plan for long-term future.
When it came time to show fourth-year running back Najee Harris exactly what they thought of him, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t hesitate.
On May 2, the Steelers declined the fifth-year option on Harris’ contract—the deadline day for teams to make decisions on contracts for 2021 first round draft picks.
That decision despite being the only running back in franchise history to rush for over 1,000 yards in his first three seasons. Despite pushing his yards per carry average up over 4.0 yards per carry in 2023. Despite finishing second in broken tackles, with 30. Despite never missing a start.
Harris has taken the very public slight as motivation, according to his trainer, Josh Scott, who said Harris was already down from 242 pounds to 235 pounds this offseason (via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette):
It’s all fueling his fire to have an even better season than last year and prove a lot of people wrong. There’s a lot of people that hate on him for whatever reason, but he’s been as consistent as you can be. He’s durable. I think he’s going to continue with that. I mean, contract season, that pretty much speaks for itself.
The Steelers selected Harris with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama, where he won two College Football Playoff national championships and had over 1,200 rushing yards and over 1,500 yards of total offense in each of his last two seasons.
