Tim Benz: Something about what Najee Harris said Wednesday doesn't compute

Something just doesn’t add up with Najee Harris’ explanation as to why he didn’t get a fifth-year option from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I’m not suggesting that Harris is the one blurring the lines. If I’m him, I’d be confused too.

The 2021 first-round draft choice spoke with media members Wednesday as players reported for training camp here at Saint Vincent College. It was the first time Harris had spoken publicly since the franchise declined his fifth-year option in the spring.

Harris said the reason he was given was that the club “didn’t know which direction the offense is headed.”

RB Najee Harris said he was “disappointed for a minute” when the team declined his fifth-year option pic.twitter.com/KwgOMsZKBD

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) July 24, 2024

Huh. That’s weird. Because the Steelers just hired Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator. So I think it’s abundantly clear that the direction the offense is headed is back to 1976.

“Grahnd and pahnd.” Win with the run game. Get 3.4 yards and a “clahd” of dust on every carry.

Hence, one would think Harris would be perfectly built for such a role. Unless, of course, Smith just doesn’t think the 242-pound Harris would be good enough to pull off the job. Or head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan are the ones foisting that belief on Smith.

Tomlin was diplomatic when posed with Harris’ quote Wednesday.

“No need for me to add any more to his answer to your question,” Tomlin said. “If that’s what he was told, that’s what he was told.”

OK. Then who told him that?

Tomlin makes it sound like it wasn’t himself. So was that general manager Omar Khan’s statement to Harris personally? Or to Harris’ agent?

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Regardless of who said it, did they really mean that the team didn’t know “which direction the offense was headed”? Or did they mean that they didn’t know which direction the team was leaning in terms of who should be the lead back for the offense?

Harris? Jaylen Warren? Or a running back TBA in 2025?

Because that sounds more likely to me.

Either way, I’ll stand by what I wrote when Harris’ option was declined two months ago.

That fifth-year option would’ve guaranteed Harris a $6.7 million sticker for 2025. In 2023, the Steelers logged 1,029 offensive snaps. Between carries, receptions and targets, the ball was thrown at or handed to Harris 293 times. That’s 28.4% of the offense going to one player.

Najee Harris.

In other words, for roughly 2.6% of the team’s cap space next year, it would’ve secured the guy who was getting the ball on more than a quarter of the snaps last year.

That doesn’t sound like frivolous spending to me.

If the offense is really “going in a different direction” in 2024 or 2025, so be it. If that direction is more George Pickens or Pat Freiermuth or even Warren, fine. Let us all see what that looks like.

For just 2.6% of the cap and 28.4% of the offense, it’s hard to argue that picking up the fifth-year option wasn’t worth the money even if those numbers diminish somewhat over the next two years.

I’m sure Harris and his camp agree.

Based on what Tomlin said Wednesday, at least someone in the Steelers front office does not. The identity of that person remains unclear.

But I can’t blame Harris for being chapped at whoever that may be.

Listen: Tim Benz and Chris Adamski recap Mike Tomlin’s opening news conference for Steelers training camp 2024