I wonder if Harris is an opportunity to be forward thinking about how RB's get compensated. I was watching his ESPN video preparing for the season. He is keenly aware of the workload put on him last year. I'm wondering if you could go to him after three and say look. We got you next year and a first round option. Let's come up with a number with good guarenteed money where we get the milk but we pay for the cow. We pay less on the average yearly but you are getting the money. And if you wait look at Barkley or this guy and that guy. They got ****. Spread it to two more years so 7 from draft. Then you can avoid what will happen after three when he realizes he is 2/3 done and made what Dionte Johnson makes in a season.
Najee and the rookie deal
- Thread starter SteelerSask2
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Barkley got a 32 million fully guaranteed rookie contract. Najee got less than half that. Hope he isn't comparing himself to Barkley or he's in for disappointment once he realizes how the Steelers pay in comparison to other teams.
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What's this suppose to mean?
I dunno. Hard for me to worry or really care about this maybe/maybe-not "future" issue when there is so much to talk about with training camp, first preseason game and soon the season just around the corner. Just seems like an off-season kind of thing. That being said, Najee seems like a smart guy. So I am pretty sure that he has his eyes on both the present and the future. Hope the next couple years has the kind of results that will demand a huge pay day (which I think they will). Let's go!
I guess what I'm trying to say is instead of the huge mega deal where the Steelers get fleeced because he is completely used up. Compensate him well not crazy earlier than you need to.
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Can't say I disagree with the logic. I think the real barrier to that, whether it makes sense with Najee or player X, is that teams don't want to set that precedent of extending or redoing a rookie's deal with more than a year left. I think that is the practical barrier (even if it does 100% make sense to extend early otherwise).
The issue is RB in first round. Team controls the 5th year. Which is really the 4th year. So if you look at Dionte Johnson he got his extension after three years on a rookie deal. But most are saying he could still get a mega deal after. Basically, when the NFLPA and NFL agreed on structured rookie deals it screwed the First Round RB who gets used up in his first 4-5 years. Najee had almost 400 total touches last year. That is almost 4 years of a good receiver and the receiver often gets tackled by a single player who is about 200lbs compared to multiple guys who are 250-300.
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yeah those guy never take care of their own
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The STEELERS take care of their stars and NAJEE is a star. They may not make him the highest paid RB in the nfl but they will pay him his due.
Do you watch the actual STEELERS or are you in a diffent world that's flipped unside down from reality???
RB is the most questionable (pay-wise) of all positions due to the availability of RBs that can get the job done. The pay VS the output is the issue, when "star" RB gains 1200 yards at 10 million per and next leval down RB can gain 1000 yards at 4 million is that differential really worth the cost VS the cap ?
ECONOMICS seem to be the factor here NOT the Steelers. To combat the RB pay dilima is going to take the CBA to say that draft rookie RB's pay scale is going to have to be higher, similar to how they do it for QBs just lower scale $$$.. Also they could put the rookie contract at 2 years from draft. then new contract.
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To be clear DIC I was never questioning the Steelers but like you said the economics. The Steelers would have paid Bell and let's be honest how that would have worked out. I guess what I'm proposing is for them to pay when the player has value and not for what you got from him once he is used up. And make no mistake here, by the time they pay him he will be used up.
It definitely should be a concern for Najee and his agent. Tomlin will do what Tomlin does and run Najee into the ground every year. He has no plans to have a legit backup to take a few carriers from Najee in every game. Najee will get 350+ touches every year. The good thing for Najee is he knows this and is at least putting in the effort//work to try and make his body last as long as possible. I hope he is an anomaly and we can get say 6 or 7 good years out of him and he gets his deserved payday. Going beyond that would probably be too much to ask the way Tomlin uses his RB's.
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I don't want to talk about a contact extension until is here. He is a running back for one thing and they can quickly lose value. We see what type of see what type of shape he's is then. For the time being, Harris has not produced may big plays. The type of 20+ yard plays that lead to touchdowns vs the run of pass. I do not think he is that type of back who produces many big plays, but the NFL is trending toward them. They can help the offense of course and we don't have that. Not on plays when the offensive line blocks well anyway.
Hopefully Najee turns into the type of player that will warrant decisions on a 2nd contract at "highest paid in position" type money..
That verdict is still out IMHO..
That verdict is still out IMHO..
Harris has shown good versatility and durability excellent ball security so far. Solid back, but nothing that jumps off the screen or blows your hair back when watching him (like Willie parker speed or Leveon Bell dance moves.
According to Adrian Peterson Harris has been putting in the work in the offseason, excited to see what he can do in his second year in the system.
According to Adrian Peterson Harris has been putting in the work in the offseason, excited to see what he can do in his second year in the system.
Highly unlikely IMHO, but then again Derrick Henry took a few years to become what he is now. Jonathan Taylor wasn't nearly what he is as a rookie either.
I heard he put on extra weight/muscle in off-season?
If so, that would be a good career move for him..
Hopefully if he learned one thing last year, is that he can have great success in this league, if he mirrors his running style closer to Jerome's Bettis than Leveon Bell's...
If so, that would be a good career move for him..
Hopefully if he learned one thing last year, is that he can have great success in this league, if he mirrors his running style closer to Jerome's Bettis than Leveon Bell's...
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Thought the same, he is becoming not a bus but a freaking tank
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What has given you the opinion that Harris will not warrant a second contract?
. I know it is years away and alot of things can happen. But based off of his rookie season what has given you the indication that he won't be worth it?
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Thanks SteelerSask2, I fully understand your point as my rant (post) was more directed at the poster I Quoted as he is always a debbie downer in his post(s).
We are both in the same light as thread topic, my suggestion is just one of many on how to address the RB "wheels fall off" VS contract pay VS rookie legnth before able to negotiate.
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For NAJEE to do what he did last season with the NFL's worse ranked OL is absolutely amazing, bar none.
Imagine if he was behind an average OL say ranked 16th.......................
Some here are acting like he has a line to work behind, like his choice of holes to hit................... He made something out of hot garbage like it or not.
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Imagine if he was behind an average OL say ranked 16th.......................
Some here are acting like he has a line to work behind, like his choice of holes to hit................... He made something out of hot garbage like it or not.
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Yeah, if only Najee was the type of back that could stiff-arm defenders right off him, break tackles, and hurdle over dudes like Edwin Moses, and be an above-average pass catching RB.
Steel dino was talking about his second contract being "highest paid in position". When it comes to his second contract. That's unlikely
He is definitely an above average pass catching RB, One of the best in the league. Rushing the ball is where I would like to see an improvement in efficiency and consistency. Not expecting every game to be like the one against the Browns but rushing under 50 yards per game for 40% of the games isn't gonna help any team win.Yeah, if only Najee was the type of back that could stiff-arm defenders right off him, break tackles, and hurdle over dudes like Edwin Moses, and be an above-average pass catching RB.
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