Would the Steelers ever consider trading Najee Harris?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a stacked backfield with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. It's an embarrassment of riches if the offensive line can ever get their act together. According to one analyst, it might make sense for Pittsburgh to consider moving off of Harris now in hopes of giving Warren more carries.
"This might seem a little surprising, but the Steelers might want to transition running back Jaylen Warren into that starting spot and consider sending Harris to a team that could better utilize his talents," USA Today analyst Cory Woodruff wrote. "Harris hasn't quite been the thousand-yard rusher we've gotten used to this season, and it'd be very easy to see a Super Bowl-caliber team calling up the Steelers and seeing if Harris is available. Pittsburgh could probably get a second-round pick in return, and some team would get a proven running back in Harris to help a postseason run."
There's some merit to what Woodruff is saying. Harris only has a few years left on his rookie deal, and eventially the Steelers are going to have to make a very tough decision: Do they pay their bell-cow or go with the cheaper and more explosive player in Warren? Harris won't like the right answer to that question.
The NFL is a business, and were Pittsburgh not surprisingly sitting near the top of the AFC North, then perhaps they would discuss trading Harris. But if they were to deal him without a replacement plan in place, they'd be leaving Warren on an island with very uninspiring backup options.
With that in mind, trading Harris right now is unlikely to happen.
Why in the world would the Steelers bench Broderick Jones now?
Broderick Jones has started one game against the Baltimore Ravens, and the first-round pick played like the best offensive lineman on the field for the Steelers. The return of Dan Moore Jr. is on the horizon, and though Moore was one of the worst linemen on the team through his first four games, he could get his starting spot back.
"He's a really young football player. So, he's going to get better, has to get better," offensive line coach Pat Meyer said. "I don't just give him a ton of stuff each week, it's more two or three things to work each week. So, yes, that hand usage is something he can work on. You know, punch timing, not bending over and getting overextended through his punch, placement. Those are all things he is working on."
Jones may be young, be he's done more in one game than Moore has accomplished all season long. What Moore does have is the flexibility to play multiple positions. The Steelers should take advantage of that, and use Moore as a pseudo-backup of sorts, inserting him when one of their offensive linemen inevitably goes down. PFF praised Jones's efforts against Baltimore:
"He's on an island with Jadeveon Clowney, no problems. They gave him absolutely no help. He was out there on his own… He stops Jadeveon Clowney in two steps. It's beautiful. You can't get any better on the island," Pro Football Focus noted.
The Steelers won't say for sure whether Jones or Moore will start, but if Pittsburgh makes the wrong decision, it could set their rookie back and set a poor example.
Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown in trouble again
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has been arrested for failing to pay child report, per TMZ and The Athletic. Brown reportedly owes up to $31,000 in child support, and the mother of his child wants him arrested.
"I do want him arrested," Brown's former partner, Wiltrice Jackson, told TMZ. "Because, right now, he's making a mockery out of the judge, out of everything, because he feels like he's untouchable."
Brown's NFL career is pretty much over at this point. The former Steelers, Patriots and Buccaneers wide receiver (I guess we can throw Raiders in there as well) went down a dark path following his departure from Pittsburgh. He did win a Super Bowl in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2022, he was released by Tampa Bay for storming off the field in a game against the New York Jets.
"By him having a daughter like an athlete like her, you would think he'd be in her corner to support her," Jackson continued.
A judge has ordered for Brown to be arrested for quite some time now. Rather, it has yet to occur.
