Former Steelers running back Najee Harris has seemed to find a new home. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Harris is signing a one-year deal with the New York Giants.
Harris Played Four Seasons With the Steelers
The Steelers selected Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft after he played at Alabama. During his four seasons with the team, Harris appeared in 68 games, recording 1,097 carries for 4,312 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also made one Pro Bowl appearance during his rookie season.
Harris left the Steelers last offseason, signing a one-year deal worth up to $9.25 million with the Chargers. The only issue was that Harris didn’t see much action in Los Angeles. Harris suffered a torn Achilles in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. The Achilles injury sidelined Harris for the entire season and is one reason why he still didn’t sign with a team until Tuesday.
The Giants brought Harris in for a visit on Monday, and head coach John Harbaugh doesn’t think Harris is back to being 100% yet, but more time could get him there.
“You know, he’s not back 100 percent,” Harbaugh said in his press conference, via Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons. “He’s not in football shape yet. So, if we are able to do something, it’ll be a process. But that would be a guy that has got a lot of experience. He’s a decorated vet. And with those guys, generally, you just have to kind of see where they’re at when you get them.”
Harris Time in Pittsburgh Didn’t End Great
After Harris became a Pro Bowler in his rookie season, it felt like the Steelers had found one of the next great NFL running backs. But he never returned to the level of performance he showed during his rookie year.
Many factors could explain why Harris didn’t return to the player he was in 2021, and quarterback play could be one of them. Ben Roethlisberger was the starting quarterback during Harris’ rookie season. Kenny Pickett came in 2022 and 2023, with Russell Wilson in 2024.
The quarterback play around him wasn’t great, which could be why Harris didn’t work out in Pittsburgh. He told KCAL News last year why his time with the Steelers wasn’t a success.
“My time in Pittsburgh, it was a lot of learning things, a lot of learning experiences,” Harris said. “Playing for Mike Tomlin, playing in that division, there were a lot of ways I didn’t even realize what the NFL was really about until I came to Pittsburgh,” Harris said, via PennLive.com’s Nick Farabaugh. “I don’t want to go into detail with it, but I feel there was a lot of stuff in my game where I could’ve elevated more and I could’ve did more. I feel like I just didn’t get it done. I feel like I was obviously missing something. … It was interesting years there, I’ll just say that. Interesting years.”
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