On the heels of the NFL season, the Steelers and Jaylen Warren reach a 2-year agreement with $12 million guaranteed.
The Steelers and running back Jaylen Warren have agreed to a 2-year deal that will pay Warren $7 million with $12 million guaranteed. Warren is the veteran in the backfield. The team added Kaleb Johnon in the 2025 NFL Draft in round 3.
With Najee Harris leaving via free agency to the Los Angeles Chargers, there is opportunity for Warren to be the lead back. While most believe Kaleb Johnson will take the Harris role, Warren can provide plenty of pop out of the backfield. Warren was 13th in yards per touch in 2024 with 5.2 and 6th in yards per route run at 2.50. Warren is a year removed from posting 61 receptions.
While this is a nice deal for Warren, it shouldn’t dissuade fantasy gamers from acquiring or drafting Kaleb Johnson. Warren ranked 46th for opportunity share in 2024 and is an undersized back at 5’8’’ and 207 pounds. Take this news as a chance to trade for Kaleb Johnson.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren handled 10 ...
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren doesn't ...
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren turned 13 ...
Mike Tomlin voiced support of Jaylen Warren after the running back signed his RFA deal.
Per Brooke Pryor: Earlier today, Mike Tomlin voiced his confidence in Warren as RB1: “I certainly feel comfortable with his ability to do so. He got hampered by injury some in 2024. He appears to be ready to answer that.“
The Steelers let Najee Harris walk in free agency, and haven’t made many moves in terms of replacing Harris’ major workload this offseason. Harris handled 299 touches in 2024.
Warren handled a career low 4.3 yards per carry and 158 touches, and finished as the RB38 for fantasy.
While Tomlin’s coachspeak is positive, the reality is that Warren isn’t built to handle a majority workload. Expect the Steelers to draft a running back in the first three rounds.
Author: Bradley Stalder (@FFStalder)
30% of Pittsburgh Steelers pre-draft visits have been with running backs, with just a few day to go until draft night. Not a good sign for Jaylen Warren’s outlook as a featured back this season.
Jaylen Warren has put together impressive spot performances for Pittsburg, especially for an undrafted free agent walk-on. It’s easy to be captivated by efficiency metrics such as his 5.2 yards per touch (#13 last year), or 4.17 yards created per touch (#9 LY) and project those into a monster season post Najee Harris departure. However, reading the tea leaves and looking at historical data should really temper those expectations.
Pittsburg has hosted 30 pre-draft visits with potential rookies, 9 of those have been running backs. The list of backs include: TreVeyon Henderson, RJ Harvey, Ollie Gordon II, Omarion Hampton, Bhayshul Tuten, Kaleb Johnson and Dylan Sampson. Thinking critically through this list, any of those backs could supplant Warren and keep him in a secondary role. Add to this Coach Tomlins propensity to feed his primary back when he has a stud on his hands, and the frequency of which NFL teams have completely abandoned UDFA running backs even after productive seasons – Jalen Warren should be a stay away in Dynasty at this point in the process.
Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)
The UNC RB wraps up back-to-back visits with Pittsburgh and New York
Running back and projected first-round pick Omarion Hampton visited with the Giants on Thursday, one day after he met with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. New York is unlikely to spend the No. 3 overall pick on Hampton, but they pick again at No. 34. If the running back is still on the board, they’d consider him a steal at that point. A trade-up to re-enter Round 1 is a possibility if the Giants think that highly of him and would be tempted by the fifth-year option that accompanies first-round talent. The team is doing its homework on running backs, possibly for an upgrade from Tyrone Tracy.
He spent time with the Steelers on Wednesday, and Pittsburgh currently holds the 21st-overall selection. They added Kenneth Gainwell (PHI) and Evan Hull (IND) in free agency, but there are questions as to whether Jaylen Warren can carry the full workload on a run-first team.
Hampton is coming off a three-year career at UNC, where he racked up 3,565 yards on the ground and 73 catches for an additional 635 yards through the air. Hampton found his way into the endzone a whopping 40 times over those seasons and was a two-time All-American.
Author: Sam Schneider (@BuyAndSellYou)
Steelers running back Jaylen Warren has received the second-round restricted free agent tender, per Tom Pelissero.
By placing this tender on Warren, the Steelers have all but secured the rights to him for another season. Warren is still able to explore his options on the open market, but if he chooses to sign with a different team, they’ll have to send Pittsburgh a second-round draft pick. Assuming Warren ends up signing his tender, he’ll receive $5.346 million in 2025.
Despite being an undrafted free agent in 2022, Warren quickly made a name for himself in the NFL. He’s mostly served as a change-of-pace option when Najee Harris needs a breather, though some signs suggest he’s flat-out the better player. Warren’s been significantly more efficient as a runner and a receiver than his counterpart since joining the Steelers. As for Harris, who’s also set to become a free agent, there are no notable updates on his contract situation. All signs currently point to the Steelers retaining Warren instead of Harris, and looking for another running back in the 2025 NFL Draft to fill his role.
Author: Trey Kroll (@TreyK_FB)
With Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren set to become free agents this summer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac suggests the Steelers will part ways with Harris.
Although Harris and Warren have played their last down under their current contracts, Harris will become an unrestricted free agent, whereas Warren is a restricted free agent. Due to his status as an RFA, it’ll be easier, and potentially cheaper, for the Steelers to keep Warren instead of Harris. Dulac also implied that the team will look to replace Harris via the 2025 NFL Draft rather than free agency.
Harris burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2021, handling 381 touches for 1,667 yards from scrimmage and ten total touchdowns. He went to the Pro Bowl that season, but his production has been underwhelming since. There’s no denying the impact of a true workhorse running back who’s reliable and rarely injured, but the truth is Harris isn’t explosive or efficient enough for the Steelers to lean on him. He’s never had more than 4.4 yards per touch in a season, and the longest play of his career is a 37-yard run from his rookie season. In contrast, Warren has been considerably more efficient with his opportunities despite fetching half of Harris’s usage. Since Warren entered the league in 2022, he leads Harris in yards per carry (4.8 to 3.9) and yards per reception (7.0 to 6.4).
Warren has never started a game for the Steelers since Harris has been healthy for all 17 games in each of his four NFL seasons, and there’s a reason for that. Workloads are earned, not given, and some running backs are more well-equipped to handle a significant number of touches every week. With that in mind, even if the Steelers part ways with Harris, don’t expect Warren to have the backfield to himself. The 2025 NFL Draft class has been praised by media pundits for its depth at running back, so it’d make a lot of sense for Pittsburgh to invest in a younger, cheaper replacement for Harris.
Author: Trey Kroll (@TreyK_FB)
