Not every player gets to choose how they want to go out. Sometimes, the circumstances decide their future and that’s the case with Najee Harris. With his contract expiring in the summer, the Steelers refused to exercise their fifth-year option on Harris. So, he knows that going into his 71st game with his team (in a wild-card game against the Ravens) could also mean it would be his final one wearing the black and gold…

Sure, he knew this day was coming since May 2024. That didn’t make it any easier for the man who was hoping for a run, mimicking his time at Alabama with the Steelers. “Compartmentalizing is not hard,” Harris said on Thursday. “But the situation is what it is. You realize what it is and just go back in the offseason. Wherever that is, whatever happens after this season, see what you can work on and see what happens next.” But as the end nears, the athlete couldn’t help but reminisce about his days with the team.

After the Steelers lost their final regular-season game at home to the Bengals, Najee Harris sat near his locker at the Acrisure Stadium. As reported by Brian Batko from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he would stare at the rest of the room and sometimes sit with his head in his hands. Despite taking his pads off, he sat there, staring into space, all alone. At times, his face was hidden by his long locks of hair.

He spoke to QB Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and third-string quarterback Kyle Allen. He was also seen talking to OC Arthur Smith. Eventually, he slowly made it to the showers, potentially the final time in there as a Steeler. After spending four rocky seasons with the team, he probably hoped for a better ending.

However, if the Bengals game was his last, he gave it his all. He even took a painful helmet-to-helmet hit from Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt in the fourth quarter. He was taken off the field to be evaluated for a head injury but returned to complete the game.

“It’s not surprising at all,” wide receiver Calvin Austin III said. “We see each other every day, and regardless of stuff that is said and how people outside feel about certain players, I know every day Naj comes into the building and gives it his all. Seeing him do that is like — I almost don’t even recognize it. That’s just how I see Najee: a guy who’s gonna work hard, run hard. Of course, all us players have our faults, but just being around a guy like that who you know is gonna give his all, you can’t ask for more.”

But the problem was that Harris wasn’t explosive enough for a running back. The 26-year-old only averages 3.9 yards per carry. And after contact, it drops even further to 2.91 yards per carry, and he never got a run of 40-plus yards in his career. His understudy, Jaylen Warren, has been more impressive on the explosive side of things.

Warren notches up 3.39 yards per carry after every contact. He even has one 10-plus-yard run on every 6.94 carries, while Harris only manages one every 10.88 carries. However, the problems of the Steelers aren’t just limited to Najee Harris. It has also made its way to their star receiver, George Pickens.

George Pickens implodes on the eve of the playoffs…

George Pickens is that guy who somehow trends for all the wrong reasons. After lashing out at Steelers reporter Alan Saunders for questioning his involvement in Russell Wilson throwing an interception against the Chiefs, Pickens has yet again made the news for his interviews.

But this time, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor reported on X that not only did George Pickens refuse an interview following the team’s Week 18 loss, but also avoided interviews in the lead-up to the team’s playoff game this week. Then, he previously avoided the media after his team’s Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys by wearing a profane mouthguard.

However, he can’t just skip media duties whenever he feels like it. The NFL has some strict rules that players must be available for post-game interviews no matter what. Now, we can just say another fine is perhaps waiting for Pickens to pick up, as he has already done this quite a few times in his brief NFL career.

Though there have been tensions regarding interviews inside locker rooms, the league still requires their athletes to talk to the media post the game. But it seems Pickens’ dislike for media availability is nowhere close to done. What do you think?