Steelers' Najee Harris: Falls short of 100 yards Sunday
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Harris carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards and caught four of five targets for 30 yards in Sunday's 18-16 win over the Ravens.
The running back had his second straight quiet performance on the ground, but Harris made up for it somewhat by catching more than three passes for the first time since Week 3. The Steelers have a slate of potentially tough run defenses down the stretch, so Harris' three straight 100-yard efforts prior to Pittsburgh's Week 9 bye might end up being his high-water mark for the season. On the other hand, he'll be facing a Browns defense in Week 12 that just got steamrolled by Taysom Hill for 138 yards and three TDs.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Clear for Week 11
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Harris (ankle) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game against the Ravens, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Meanwhile, fellow running back Jaylen Warren is listed as questionable after logging no practice reps Thursday and returning to the field as limited Friday. If Warren is inhibited or even inactive Sunday, Harris would be Pittsburgh's unquestioned top backfield option versus a Baltimore defense that has stymied opposing RBs to the tune of 3.23 yards per carry (2nd) this season.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Turns in full practice
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Harris (ankle) was a full practice participant Thursday, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Harris was held out of Wednesday's practice due to the ankle issue, but his return to the field a day later as a full participant suggests his absence was likely just maintenance-related. Meanwhile, Jaylen Warren (back) sat out Thursday's session, making his health the bigger question mark of Pittsburgh's top two running backs heading into Sunday's game against the Ravens. Warren has pushed for a bigger role behind Harris in recent weeks with double-digit touches in each of the last three games, but if Warren were to miss Sunday's contest, Harris could be in prime position to handle one of his largest workloads of the season in terms of both snaps and touches.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: RBs to Sit
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Harris is dealing with an ankle injury heading into Week 11 against the Ravens, but he's expected to play. And we'll see if he can keep up his recent level of production since he's run for at least 100 yards or scored a touchdown in four games in a row. But this is a tough matchup for Harris since the Ravens are No. 9 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. Baltimore has yet to allow a running back to gain more than 52 yards on the ground this season, and only two running backs have scored a touchdown against the Ravens since Week 4. Harris could be in trouble this week if he doesn't score, and I don't expect him to have a huge role in the passing game because of Jaylen Warren. I would only use Harris as a flex option in most leagues.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Doesn't practice Wednesday
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Harris (ankle) didn't practice Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Though Harris missed Wednesday's session, head coach Mike Tomlin downplayed the running back's absence, indicating that Harris is among the players he anticipates including in the team's "planning at the latter part of the week." With that in mind, Harris still appears on track to be ready to go for Sunday's game against the Ravens, though he may need to practice fully by Friday in order to head into the weekend without an injury designation.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Nursing ankle issue, should play
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Harris could be limited in practice this week due to an ankle injury, but the running back is expected to play Sunday against the Ravens, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Harris is banged up coming out of a 28-27 win over the Commanders this past Sunday, when he matched his season high with 21 carries and gained 53 yards while scoring a touchdown. The Steelers are seemingly planning on taking it easy with Harris in practice this week coming off the big workload, but his availability for a Week 11 matchup with Baltimore doesn't seem to be in serious jeopardy.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Punches in third touchdown
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Harris rushed the ball 21 times for 53 yards and one touchdown in Sunday's 28-27 win over the Commanders. He was not targeted.
Harris entered Sunday in the midst of one of the most productive stretches of his career by topping 100 yards in three consecutive games. He didn't continue that streak and was inefficient overall, but there were still some positive takeaways from his performance in Week 10. He led the Steelers' backfield, recording 21 touches as compared to 16 for Jaylen Warren. Harris also scored his third touchdown in his last four games with a one-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. It's also worth noting that Harris briefly left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent ankle injury, though he did return on Pittsburgh's game-winning drive.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: RBs to Start
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Harris went into his bye in Week 9, having rushed for at least 102 yards in three games in a row, and he scored at least 16.1 PPR points in each outing against the Raiders, Jets, and Giants. I hope he stays hot, and he also has two touchdowns over that span. Washington has allowed two running backs in the past four games to rush for at least 129 yards, and Harris is worth trusting as a No. 2 running back in the majority of leagues.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Cracks century mark on SNF
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Harris rushed 21 times for 102 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 37-15 win over the Jets.
Harris failed to bring in his only target in Sunday's lopsided victory, but that's where the bad news ends following the running back's second consecutive 100-yard rushing game. The 26-year-old also cashed in his second touchdown in as many weeks following a slow start to the campaign. Harris and the Steelers remain at home to host another New York team when the Giants come to town for Monday Night Football in Week 8.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Best performance of season
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Harris rushed the ball 14 times for 106 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 32-13 win over the Raiders. He added two receptions on two targets for 16 yards.
Amid some concern that he would lose work to Jaylen Warren, Harris instead turned in his best performance of the season by nearly any measure. He turned in more than 100 yards on the ground for the first time in the campaign, and he also did so efficiently with two rushes of more than 20 yards. To top things off, Harris also found the end zone for the first time this season with a 36-yard rush late in the third quarter. He's seen his opportunity limited to some extent in recent weeks, though he has at least 15 total touches in every game this season.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: RBs to Start
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It's getting harder to recommend starting Harris each week, but this is another great matchup, especially if Jaylen Warren (knee) and Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) remain out. That said, Harris has faced Indianapolis and Dallas the past two games and scored 10.3 PPR points against the Colts and 9.7 PPR points against the Cowboys. He's yet to score a touchdown, and his best game was 13.6 PPR points in Week 3 against the Chargers. But this week, he's facing a Raiders defense that will be without Christian Wilkins (foot), and Las Vegas has allowed a running back to score at least 15.5 PPR points in every game this season. If there was ever a week for Harris to step up it's now, and I would start him as a No. 2 running back in all leagues.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Gets 16 touches in Week 5 loss
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Harris rushed 14 times for 42 yards and caught both of his targets for 35 yards in Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Cowboys.
Harris handled 16 touches while Aaron Shampklin and Jonathan Ward combined for six touches in a Pittsburgh backfield operating without Jaylen Warren (knee) and Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle). Warren and Patterson are both more fluid pass catchers than Harris, but Harris stepped up in that regard Sunday, leading Pittsburgh's unimpressive passing attack in receiving yards. The power back plodded to just 3.0 yards per carry but picked up a key fourth-and-1 with a one-yard run in the fourth quarter, extending a drive that ended with a go-ahead Pat Freiermuth touchdown catch. Harris should continue to get the majority of touches in Pittsburgh's backfield against the Raiders in Week 6, even if Warren and Patterson are ready to return.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: RBs to Start
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Jaylen Warren (knee) and Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) are out this week, so Harris should be considered a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues. He's been disappointing this season with no touchdowns, and he's averaging just 3.4 yards per carry. But in the past two games with injuries to Warren and Patterson, Harris has come alive as a receiver with eight catches for 70 yards on 11 targets. The Cowboys have allowed three running backs to score at least 18.9 PPR points this season, and hopefully, this can be Harris' best game of the year.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Ready for Week 4 contest
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Harris, who was rested Wednesday, returned to a full practice Thursday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Harris was spotted wearing a sling around his right arm/elbow in the Steelers' locker room Monday, but after getting a maintenance day Wednesday and then practicing fully Thursday, the running back evidently doesn't carry any injury concerns ahead of Sunday's game against the Colts. The same can't been said for Jaylen Warren (knee), who missed his second straight session, and thus looks iffy for Week 4 at this stage. If Warren is unavailable this weekend, Cordarrelle Patterson would be in line to pick up added complementary snaps behind Harris, with Jonathan Ward and Aaron Shampklin candidates to be elevated from Pittsburgh's practice squad.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: RBs to Start
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Harris should be fine for Week 4 after having his right arm in a sling following the Week 3 win against the Chargers. "Naj will be ready to rock and roll," Mike Tomlin said, which is great news. And Harris could be headed for a big role with Jaylen Warren (knee) banged up. Against the Chargers, Harris had 18 carries for 70 yards and five catches for 16 yards on five targets for a season-high 13.6 PPR points. He has yet to score a touchdown, but the Colts have allowed two running backs (Joe Mixon in Week 1 and Josh Jacobs in Week 2) to each score at least 15.1 PPR points. If Warren is out as expected then Harris should be considered a No. 2 running back in all leagues.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: RBs to Sit
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Harris has been the lead running back for the Steelers through two games, but he's had modest stat lines to show for it. He had 20 carries for 70 yards and one catch for 9 yards on two targets in Week 1 at Atlanta and 17 carries for 69 yards and one catch for 5 yards on two targets in Week 2 at Denver. He's yet to score more than 8.9 PPR points in either game, and Jaylen Warren actually played more snaps than Harris in Week 2 (32-30). The Chargers have yet to allow a rushing touchdown, but they've struggled in the passing game against Alexander Mattison (four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown on six targets) and Chuba Hubbard (four catches for 12 yards on five targets). It's doubtful Harris gets many catches this week, and if he doesn't score then his production will be minimal. Consider him a flex option at best in most leagues.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: One drive in preseason finale
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Harris rushed the ball once for five yards in Saturday's 24-17 preseason loss to the Lions.
Harris played on the opening drive with Russell Wilson under center and received his carry on the opening play of the game. He'll likely head into Week 1 as the top choice in Pittsburgh's backfield for early down work, though the team has continuously played down the significance of Jaylen Warren's hamstring injury. If Warren is able to suit up, he would likely cost Harris significant work as a pass catcher as well as some rushing attempts.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Could dominate early-season work
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Harris rushed the ball four times for 17 yards in Saturday's 9-3 preseason loss to the Bills.
The Pittsburgh offense was stymied for nearly the entire game, though Harris did manage a tough nine-yard run late in the first quarter to pick up a first down. The far bigger development Saturday was that Jaylen Warren was forced to exit the game with a hamstring issue. It's unclear how serious the injury is, but it could leave Harris as the clear lead back early in the regular season.
The Steelers declined their 2025 option on Harris' contract, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
This comes as somewhat of a surprise after Harris has posted three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since being selected 24th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Most impressively, Harris has never missed a game at a position that sees so many injuries. He's been a model of toughness and durability, even if the stats haven't particularly jumped off the page with a career 3.9 yards-per-carry average. Harris, however, did rush for a career-best eight touchdowns last season, averaging a three year-best 4.1 yards per carry. Harris is now tentatively schedule to hit free agency next March, though Adam Schefter of ESPN notes that the Steelers aren't ruling out reaching a deal with the 26-year-old running back before then.
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Steelers' Najee Harris: Set to face Bills on Sunday
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Harris (knee) returned to a full practice Thursday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Harris, who has been managing a knee issue of late, didn't practice Wednesday, but the running back's return to an uncapped session a day later indicates that his initial absence was maintenance related and paves the way for him to lead the Steelers backfield Sunday on the road against Buffalo in potentially inclement conditions. In that context, Harris could be busy in his team's playoff opener on the heels of carrying 26 times for 112 yards and a touchdown while adding five catches on as many targets for 21 yards in Pittsburgh's Week 18 win over the Ravens.
