Steelers RB Najee Harris willing to 'get 500' touches this NFL season

Last month, Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted how Pittsburgh Steelers running back and 2021 rookie Najee Harris admitted he would "not be on the field for certain plays" during the upcoming season after he finished his debut pro campaign second among all players with 307 carries, per ESPN stats. The 24-year-old also contributed 1,200 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground to go along with 74 catches for 467 yards and three additional scores. 

Unlike last summer when future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger was serving as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback, free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky is on track to be the club's QB1 for Week 1 in September. With Trubisky very much still an unproven commodity at the sport's most important position, Harris made it clear during a recent appearance on the "Rich Eisen Show" that he is willing to accept as many carries this fall as possible to help the Steelers earn wins. 

"I can get 500, g--------," Harris remarked, per Noah Strackbein of FanNation's All Steelers. "I didn't have an issue with it. It was the media who had an issue with it. I told them every game, I was like, 'Man, look, if this is the way of winning, I can carry the load.' I trained to carry loads. It's not something that I haven't done before. I did it in college, high school, you know what I mean, NFL."

It's that type of mentality that has some naming Harris and not All-Pro edge-rusher and reigning Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt as Pittsburgh's potential most valuable player for the 2022 season.