This season, the starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers might end up somewhere else.
The decision by the Pittsburgh Steelers to decline Najee Harris’s fifth-year option was a significant one. Talk about whether or not he would play in Pittsburgh the next season began right away, and things are moving quickly in that direction.
Given that Harris has no long-term strategy and Jaylen Warren is still on the team, some have started to wonder whether the Steelers might consider trading Harris out of Pittsburgh. John Buhler of FanSided raised the possibility that Harris would be a viable option for the Dallas Cowboys, whose current starting line-up includes the recently signed and returning Ezekiell Elliott.
Buhler suggested that Harris might receive a fourth-round pick in return for moving to Dallas.
Buhler gave the idea that Harris could end up in Dallas in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
“With the 2024 NFL Draft firmly in the rearview mirror, all it may take for the dollars to make sense is a fourth-round pick next year going the Steelers’ way to get Harris,” Buhler writes. “It would be a slight premium on the side of the Cowboys to make the deal, but we are only talking about a $300,000 discrepancy in APY. I get that Jaylen Warren might replace Harris long-term, but the Steelers have me questioning things.
“For two teams that are trending down in my opinion, I am not sure a trade makes either team better.”
Despite having three seasons with 1,000 yards or more, Harris’s long-term prospects doesn’t seem to be improving. Should he strengthen himself in his last season in Pittsburgh, he would most likely cost himself. Should he fail to do so, Warren will step in while Harris departs.
So perhaps the Steelers should let go of this early.