2024 Steelers Exit Interviews: Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren
The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2025.
Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do them yet again here at Steel Curtain Network. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.
Next up are running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
Najee Harris
Position: Running Back
Years with the Steelers: 4
Years in the NFL: 4
Contract Status: Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money.
Games played in 2024: 17 regular season
Games started in 2024: 17 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 569 (offense), 2 (special teams)
PFF score: 77.2 (16th of 59)
Notable stats: Harris had 1,043 rushing yards on 263 attempts with 6 touchdowns. Harris added 283 receiving yards of 36 receptions from 48 targets.
Notes: Najee Harris started every game for four seasons with the Steelers since he was drafted in the first round of 2021. Additionally, Harris went over 1000 yards each year. While it sounds impressive, Harris still only had a 3.9 yards/ carry average for his career. Marred by an inferior offensive line, particularly early it is career, Harris has been a workhorse for the Steelers throughout his rookie contract. But as much as he has done for the Steelers, it’s likely time for the two part ways as the Steelers look to find a running back whose strengths line up more with what they’re looking to do.
Jaylen Warren
Position: Running Back
Years with the Steelers: 3
Years in the NFL: 3
Contract Status: Restricted Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money.
Games played in 2024: 15 regular season
Games started in 2024: 0 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 447 (offense), 69 (special teams)
PFF score: 64.3 (46th of 59)
Notable stats: Warren had 511 rushing yards on 120 attempts with one touchdown. Warren added 310 receiving yards of 38 receptions from 47 targets as well as 9 kickoff returns for 227 yards.
Notes: It has been reported the Steelers plan to give Jaylen Warren a restricted free agent tender. It’s assumed it will be a right of first refusal tender, so he could still look for a contract elsewhere. The biggest thing Warren brought to the Steelers was versatility as it was uncertain if the Steelers were going to pass or run whenever he lined up in the backfield. While I expect Warren to end up in Pittsburgh in 2025, it’s very early in the offseason and whether or not he will be the premier running back for the Steelers is yet to be seen.
Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:
Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen
Mason McCormick & James Daniels
Logan Lee & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Ryan Watts & Damontae Kazee
Joey Porter Jr. & James Pierre
Keeanu Benton & Montravius Adams
Darnell Washington & Pat Freiermuth
Nick Herbig & Jeremiah Moon
Cory Trice Jr. & Donte Jackson
Spencer Anderson & Calvin Anderson
Larry Ogunjobi & Preston Smith
Beanie Bishop Jr. & Cameron Sutton
George Pickens & Mike Williams
DeMarvin Leal & Dean Lowry
Calvin Austin III & Ben Skowronek
Connor Heyward & MyCole Pruitt
Mark Robinson & Elandon Roberts
The article states:
But as much as he has done for the Steelers, it’s likely time for the two part ways as the Steelers look to find a running back whose strengths line up more with what they’re looking to do.
Is this from a scheme perspective? Becauuse I find it hard to envision a running back who is more in line with what the Steelers want to do than Najee Harris.
Harris is a bruising runner who was in the top 10 in 10+ yard carries per game and 20+ yard carries a game in three of the four years he played for the Steelers. He was also an effective receiver, with 180 receptions for 1149 yards. And he has scored 34 TDs which ranks fourth all-time for Steelers RBs.
The deficiency was not him, it was scheme and o-line execution.
I get that they will be moving on from him, mostly because of contract, but almost everyone I see that people look at to replace him will be a less effective Najee who might (stress might) look better behind a better line and scheme / play calling. That especially goes for Warren who has had fumbling problems and seems far less durable and less affective when he is in the primary RB role and has had as many TDs in his career as Harris had last year.
I think your supposition is spot on. They want a guy that is a better zone runner than Najee. I would argue however, that the Oline is not best suited for zone running either. They are also looking for a unicorn. They want a 220-230LB back that can take the ball to the house in the open field. You know like the commonly seen Saquan Barkley and Derek Henry. I could list more as I am sure there are 20 of those guys in the NFL (TIC).
Harris was/is a great Steeler and has been worth his draft pick no matter how you measure it.
Can’t deny Najee’s durability and toughness.Ben’s last regular season game he had that elbow get twisted if I’m remembering right. He came back and I just remember thinking I loved that heart and willingness to grind. I just think running the same group back out next year is not smart. Hope the best for him and think he could be a solid piece in a different offense
I do worry if the Steelers don’t acquire someone who can be the 1A and Jaylen staying as a 1B. IMO his best role is being the supplementary back to someone who can do the bulk of the work similar to Najee.
On Najee he has been a really good back it was just unfortunate that he was selected in round 1 which makes it so difficult to meet expectations. If he moves on I will be excited to see what he does with the rest of his career.