Steelers place second-round tender on Jaylen Warren

The Pittsburgh Steelers are wrapping up several items of business before the legal tampering period begins ahead of the 2025 NFL league year. After trading for wide receiver DK Metcalf Sunday night, it has been reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that the Steelers have officially tendered running back to Jaylen Warren with a second round restricted free agent tender.

The #Steelers placed the second-round restricted tender on RB Jaylen Warren, per his agents @davidcanter and @NessMugrabi at @aurasportsgroup. It's worth $5.346 million. pic.twitter.com/lzBDk1WIrb

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2025

An undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL draft, Jaylen Warren signed with the Steelers and made the 53-man roster. Appearing in 48 games over three seasons, Warren has 1,674 rushing yards on 346 attempts with six rushing touchdowns as well as 894 receiving yards on 127 receptions from 154 targets.

Playing three seasons with the Steelers, Warren was a restricted free agent. Here is a reminder of what qualifies a player as a restricted free agent:

Restricted Free Agent (RFA): A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers (“tenders”) that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent. In 2025, teams must submit these tenders before 4 p.m. ET on March 12. These amounts change annually.

Had the Steelers offered Warren a right of first refusal tender, his contract would be for $3.263 million. Instead, the Steelers offered the second round tender of $5.346 million. Should Warren sign with another team, the Steelers would have the opportunity to match the offer and, if they did not, would receive that team’s 2025 second round draft pick.

Although it is rare for a restricted free agent to sign with another team, having it be a second round tender makes the likelihood even smaller.

Stay tuned to Steel Curtain Network for continued coverage as the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to add players to their 2025 roster to kick off the NFL league year.