Insider: Steelers Will Tender Offer to Jaylen Warren

The Pittsburgh Steelers changed the future of their running game when they decided not to pick up Najee Harris' fifth-year option last offseason.

Now that Harris had another good season, his price on the open market may prove too much for the Steelers to retain him.

With fellow back Jaylen Warren still in need of a new deal as he gets set to hit restricted free agency, the Steelers are expected to tender him an offer according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"Meantime, the Steelers are expected to tender an offer to Jaylen Warren, who is a restricted free agent," Dulac wrote. "At the very least, it would be a right-of-first-refusal offer that would cost them $3.185 million in 2025. That would allow the Steelers to match any offer Warren might receive from another team.

"A second-round tender would cost a projected $5.217 million, meaning the Steelers would get a second-round draft choice in return if they would choose not to match any offer Warren might receive from another team."

Warren has been an interesting back for the Steelers, flipping between their top option and second option with Harris throughout all of this past season. Warren was not healthy for parts of the beginning half of the year, leading to Harris looking quite good and potentially garnering a larger contract elsewhere in the process.

Warren was able to outsnap Harris in five of the last six games of the Steelers' campaign, nearing five yards per carry with a consistent 4.7 down the stretch.

According to Nick Farabaugh of Penn Live, Warren should be able to return to the Steelers at an affordable price, allowing for the team to have some flexibility for other positions of need.

They could use the money they have remaining on bolstering their receiving corps, a group that suffered throughout the entirety of the season for a plethora of reasons.

The Steelers will need to make tougher decisions at wide receiver and quarterback than they do at running back, so getting Warren at a price that works for both groups would be a boon to the team.

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