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Steelers RB Najee Harris Lands with Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are signing Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris to a one-year contract worth up to $9.25 million, per NFL Network.
Given the RB market, the amount and term that Harris got is a little surprising. Pro Football Focus projected that Harris would get a three-year contract at $11.5 million per season earlier this offseason.
Harris’ downhill run style certainly fits L.A.’s offense. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is notorious for having run-first teams.
Harris, who’s from the Bay Area, also returns to the West Coast.
Harris started saying goodbyes to some Steelers teammates on Sunday, while prepping for the fluid process of free agency, according to NFL insider Josina Anderson.
The Steelers could have had Harris for a one-year, $6.9 million option on his rookie contract, but they declined it last offseason. At that moment, it really seemed that Harris was heading into his last year in the Black and Gold.
The Steelers drafted Najee Harris with the No. 24 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Since then, Harris has rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons as a professional. This past season, he went for 1,043 yards and six touchdowns on 263 carries. Harris, Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Clinton Portis and LaDainian Tomlinson are the only RBs since 2000 to enter the NFL with four-straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Despite taking his lumps, he’s been durable for the Steelers, having not missed a game for the team. It ultimately came down to a business decision to not place the fifth-year option on Harris.
“It was a business decision that we had to make by May 2,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said last June on 93.7 The Fan. “But Najee’s awesome to have around here. Love Najee as a player and a person. Just because we didn’t pick it up doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee long-term. I’d love to say Najee was here and had a long career in Pittsburgh. He really represents us well on and off the field.”
The Steelers play the Chargers at SoFi Stadium in 2025.