Steelers RB Najee Harris finally addresses the elephant in the room in terms of his contract

It has been a long time since the Pittsburgh Steelers season ended on a cold day in Buffalo.

A lot has happened on the offense and with the team in general, including the team's decision to decline Najee Harris' fifth-year option.

So when arriving at camp on Wednesday, no one was going to be a more popular interview than Harris, who spoke for the first time in 2024.

Najje Harris addresses Steelers' decision to decline fifth-year option

"I was disappointed for a minute but it's nothing where me sitting around be disappointed for too long would help me out," Harris told reporters when asked about his fifth-year option being declined. "I think that it is what it is, and you just have to keep it pushing, knowing that coming out here [training camp] and doing what's best for the team and having a good year is most important right now. So yeah, I was for a minute, like a couple of days, but then it passed my mind."

The decision places a ton of pressure on Harris, who now heads into 2024 in a contract year at age 26. A historic start to his career, Harris will need to churn out yet another 1000-yard season if he's going to get the contract he deserves.

The question is, will that be from Pittsburgh or a different team?

Harris would add that Pittsburgh told him the decision to decline his fifth-year option was based on them wanting to see which direction the offense was headed under new OC Arthur Smith, and that the team and his representation haven't had any talks on an extension.

Those two statements don't coincide with what GM Omar Khan noted as a business decision and one that didn't preclude them from keeping Najee around.

"It was a business decision that we had to make by... I think it was May 2nd," Omar Khan told 93.7 The Fan when asked about the decision to decline Harris' option. "But Najee is awesome to have around here. Love Najee as a player and a person. And just because we didn't pick it up, it doesn't exclude us from doing something with Najee for long term. You know, I'd love to say that Najee had a long career in Pittsburgh. He really represents us well on the field and off the field. But it was just one of those things that we had to make a decision on, and we just felt right now that was the right decision for everyone. But I love Najee and would love to have him here long term."

Where things go from here is anyone's guess, but for now, Harris has to focus on another solid year in Pittsburgh.