Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March, and with the organization declining his fifth-year option before last season, the odds of him returning seem very slim. He'll cash in elsewhere.
So where could Najee Harris land in free agency? Former NFL running back and fellow Bay Area native Maurice Jones-Drew thinks Denver would be a perfect fit for Harris.
"The Broncos haven't had a 1,000-yard rusher since Phillip Lindsay in 2019. Harris, meanwhile, became the third player in the past 20 seasons to hit the 1K mark in each of his first four NFL campaigns (joining Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson )," Jones-Drew wrote . "Sean Payton's offense has steadily improved over his first two seasons in Denver, and the future looks bright with Bo Nix at quarterback. What's missing now is a run game. Harris is a physical, downhill rusher who consistently breaks tackles. That's the type of back Payton (and Nix) would welcome."
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris runs against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 8, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The Broncos are in need of a bell-cow running back, so that does seem like a realistic possibility for Harris. The Las Vegas Raiders are another running back-needy team.
Raiders All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby is hoping Harris will join him in the Silver and Black. Harris is from the Bay Area, so Crosby thinks it could be an ideal fit for him to come back to the West Coast.
"Why not? He's from the Bay. Najee's a baller," Crosby said on The Rush With Maxx Crosby podcast. "Anybody that could help when it comes to winning and being a culture guy, a leader, that's the type of guy I want around. You've seen Najee, he's played four years in the league and has had 1000 yards every season. That alone is impressive. He is a tough (expletive) and hard to tackle, too. I'd love to have a guy like Najee around. Selfishly, he could come to Vegas all day."
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The Sporting News' Mike Moraitis also thinks the Raiders would be a good landing spot for Harris.
"He doesn't have the best vision when it comes to finding holes and isn't exactly explosive, but Harris also had a lackluster offensive line in front of him and an offense that allowed teams to stack the box against him," Moraitis wrote . "Harris can be an above-average running back with a good supporting cast around him, and he's a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield, also. While he isn't the sexiest option for the Raiders at running back, he'd be an upgrade over anyone the team had in 2024. Perhaps with a little nudging from their best player, the Raiders might consider bringing Harris in this offseason."
During his season-ending press conference, Mike Tomlin praised Harris for his consistency over his four years in Pittsburgh. On the surface, it sounded like a departing salute.
"Naj has had an awesome four years here," Tomlin said . "I understand that he is a free agent. Again, it's at the very beginnings of that process in terms of us assessing what we're capable of doing or what we desire to do. And I'd imagine it's the same thing from a player's perspective.
"But rest assured, we've had a good experience with him and obviously the ridiculous consistency in his performance in terms of producing four straight 1,000-yard seasons speaks for itself."
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