Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Najee Harris responds to recent disrespect of RBs

After Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard didn't receive contract extensions on Monday after being placed with the franchise tag this offseason, players around the league, including Steelers RB Najee Harris, took to social media to blast the NFL for undervaluing the position.

"I agree with my running back brothers around the NFL- history will show that you need running backs to win- we set the tone every game and run through walls for our team and lead in many ways- this notion that we deserve less is a joke," Harris tweeted.

In 2022, Jacobs led the NFL in rushing with 1,653 yards and Barkley was fourth with 1,312 yards. However, their teams still didn't believe it was necessary to lock them up for years to come.

The running back position may be valued less than ever, and the approach of not investing a lot of money into the position seems to be sweeping the league.

Former WR Dez Bryant posted on Twitter that the average salary for an NFL running back in 2023 is $1.81M while the average salary for an NFL kicker is $2.26M.

Harris continued to voice his opinion tweeting, "If this do not open your eyes you tripin."

It's the exact reason some didn't like Pittsburgh's first-round selection of Harris in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Harris, who is already 25 and entering his third year, is coming off back-to-back 1,000+ rushing yard seasons. But before you know it, it will be the Steelers' turn to decide whether they will franchise tag him, extend him or part ways entirely.

Jacobs and Barkley seem to be heading for holdouts. If Harris finds himself in a similar situation in two years, will he do the same?

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