When Najee Harris spurned the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Los Angeles Chargers, this was a game we had circled on our calendars. Since then, the appeal of this matchup seems to have gone by the wayside. Just ahead of the NFL Schedule Release, we learned that the Steelers would be on the road in LA to face the Chargers in Week 10 on Sunday Night Football.
This contest was quietly sandwiched in between home contests against the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals in the middle of the season. While Mike Tomlin vs. Jim Harbaugh makes for a good storyline on SNF, a Najee Harris revenge game no longer holds the same luster we thought it would.
Despite earning four straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, Harris signed a modest one-year deal with the Chargers this offseason that includes a $3.75 million prorated signing bonus and just $1.5 million in base salary.
Still, it looked like Harris was in line to be the workhorse back in LA. But roughly a month-and-a-half after signing Najee, the Chargers spent a first-round pick on North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton. Suddenly, Harris is an afterthought.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans may have a hard time spotting Najee Harris in Week 10 SNF game against the LA Chargers
Considering the LA Chargers went out and spent their top draft choice on a workhorse running back, if Najee Harris was to leave his mark, he'll have to do it early in the season. However, the Pittsburgh Steelers' primetime matchup against the Chargers doesn't come until Week 10.
By this point in the season, it's inevitable that Hampton will be carving out a lion's share of the touches. At 27, Najee isn't old, but studies have shown that running back shelf life peaks at 26 years old and rapidly begins to decline (in most cases). Considering all of the carries under his belt from his days at Alabama before being the bellcow back in Pittsburgh, he may not have a ton of explosiveness left.
Of course, there's always a chance that Hampton is banged up and unable to go against Pittsburgh in Week 10 on Sunday Night Football. In that case, Najee's presence becomes a bigger storyline.
Realistically, however, we could be looking at a contest that only features Najee Harris for a handful of touches from the backfield in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on SNF. That hardly has the makings of a legitimate revenge game.