When NFL Wild Card weekend rolls around and the Pittsburgh Steelers get set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs, they are hoping to have all hands on deck. That includes stud rookie running back Najee Harris, who is currently nursing an elbow injury. Harris has yet to practice this week and that has his status for the game looking questionable. According to James Palmer of NFL Network, if Najee does not practice on Friday, it could spell very bad news for the Steelers.
The #steelers believe tomorrow is a big evaluation day for Najee Harris (elbow) in their determination if he will play Sunday vs the #chiefs. He has yet to practice this week. Harris finished second in the NFL in scrimmage yards this season.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 13, 2022
That last note by Palmer is actually inaccurate, as Harris has the second-most scrimmage yards in the AFC, not the NFL, but still, that is a lot for a team to be missing, especially in the playoffs. If the Steelers are forced to play without Harris, the drop-off to their next best ball carrier, Benny Snell, is precipitous.
For the 2021 season, Snell has just 36 carries for 98 yards and zero touchdowns. He caught just two balls for 13 yards and his yards per carry on the season was only 2.7. With Harris, the Steelers have someone that has gotten 3.9 yards per carry and also operated as the offense's third-best pass-catcher for most of the season. Yesterday, Roethlisberger made some comments that lead some to believe he was giving up before the game had even started.
That pissed off Harris, but if Najee knew that his status was so iffy, then why was he surprised that “Big Ben” had no confidence? It's probably just because Harris, as a team leader of this team in the future, does not want Pittsburgh to be known as a team that gives up. He can show that in the biggest way by gutting through this injury this weekend. Stay tuned.
Follow Us
Subscribe