Steelers General Manager Omar Khan didn’t think running back Najee Harris was valuable enough to the team to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, but Khan says that doesn’t preclude Harris from being in Pittsburgh in 2025 and beyond.
Khan said on 93.7 The Fan that the Steelers could see Harris signing a contract extension and never hitting free agency.
“It was a business decision that we had to make by, I think, May 2,” Khan said. “But Najee’s awesome to have around here. Love Najee as a player and a person. And just because we didn’t pick it up, that doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee for the long term. I’d love to say Najee was here and had a long career in Pittsburgh. He really represents us well on the field and off the field. But it was one of those things we had to make a decision on. We just felt right now it was the right decision for everyone. But I love Najee and I would love to have him here long term.”
Khan said he personally called Harris to let him know that the Steelers wouldn’t pick up his option. Khan declined to go into detail about what was said in that conversation, but sounded optimistic about Harris having a future in Pittsburgh.
“He knows that just because we’re going into this with one year left, that doesn’t prevent us from doing business with him long term,” Khan said.
NFL teams are increasingly deciding that running backs aren’t worth big contracts, but Harris may still find that the Steelers are willing to offer him more than anyone else.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/omar-khan-steelers-could-still-112340955.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-17 11:23:40
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