Not exercising Najee Harris’ option was not indicative of Omar Khan‘s feelings for—or even the future of—the Pittsburgh Steelers star running back.
Khan said the decision not to extend Harris was purely business.
“It was a business decision that we had to make… but Najee’s awesome to have around here,” Khan said last week on 93.7 The Fan. “Love Najee as a player and a person.”
Khan then hinted that something could still be on the horizon for the fourth-year back. “And just because we didn’t pick it up, that doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee for the long term.”
Entering the final year of his rookie deal with an unclear future, all eyes will be on Harris as he works in Arthur Smith‘s new offense.
While players now have one game more to put up numbers that will inevitably be compared to players of the past, running backs are also not utilized like they once were. Would it be beneficial if Harris was consistently churning out four-plus yards per attempt? Sure, but that’s not what the Steelers have required of him.
Harris has played through a nagging Lisfranc injury — and other issues fans aren’t privy to — at a level that produced three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. All behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. It’ll be exciting to see how Harris executes Smith’s game plan with the help of some new faces in the trenches.
