With Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abullah as free agents, Zamir White believed to be available should anyone want to trade for him, Sincere McCormick seemingly inconsequential and Dylan Laube an unknown quantity, the Las Vegas Raiders are definitely in the market for a running back. A deep draft class at the position could yield an addition.
As free agency has neared it's been easy to tie the Raiders to free agent running back Najee Harris, should he leave the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to Nick Farabaugh of Penn Live, Harris' return to the Steelers is indeed unlikely and the Raiders were a team that came up often at the NFL Combine.
"Sources tell PennLive that [Najee] Harris’s return to the Steelers is unlikely. He will likely earn between $8-10 million on the open market, a number the Steelers are unwilling to match. Even with a strong market, Harris seems to have several suitors. The Las Vegas Raiders were one team that came up quite often when talking about Harris. All in all, expect Harris to leave Pittsburgh this year in free agency.”
Reports we see right now can quickly become nothing when free agent signings start flying next week
Raiders can make Najee Harris an offer he wouldn't refuse
It doesn't mean nearly what it used with 17-game seasons now, but Harris has topped 1,000 yards on the ground in each of his four seasons. But he has also not missed a game in his career, finishing top-10 in the league in carries and touches in all four seasons. An offensive coordinator with a little imagination can probably get more production out of him as a pass catcher, as he had 74 and 41 receptions in his first two seasons compared to 29 and 36 catches in the last two.
Pending the move to cut quarterback Gardner Minshew becoming official, and how the signing of guard Alex Cappa breaks down, the Raiders will have somewhere around $100 million in cap space. So $8-10 million a year for Harris is well within their realm to do, and hitting the high end of that range is definitely in play.
The bigger question will be the contract term. But a two year-commitment for the soon-to-be 27-year old Harris (on March 9) should be fine, and along the lines of what he should expect. Time will tell where the Raiders are among the suitors for the former Doak Walker Award winner.