If you were worried that the Pittsburgh Steelers would have to completely rebuild their running back room in 2025, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Less than two hours before the start of the NFL free agency negotiation period, NFL Insider Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the Steelers have placed the second-round restricted tender on Jaylen Warren.
With this tender, any team looking to poach Warren from Pittsburgh's roster would be required to fork up a second-round pick. Pittsburgh would also have the right to match any contract offer Warren may receive in free agency.
No team out there will be willing to part with valuable Day 2 draft capital for Warren's services. The former undrafted free agent is 26 years old and coming off a down season that included 511 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in 15 games. This means the Steelers will pay Warren $5.346 million for the 2025 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers secure the first piece of their running back room with Jaylen Warren
There's more work to be done when rebuilding the running back room. Najee Harris is projected to be one of the highest-paid free agent running backs on the market, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to let him walk in free agency. Meanwhile, veteran Cordarrelle Patterson is still under contract for one more season, but the Steelers could save $2.8 million by cutting him.
With Warren's spot secure, Pittsburgh starts making preparations to round out the running back room. Though Warren has been an excellent undrafted free agent signing, he's often banged up, and his injury history suggests he can't shoulder the load of the rushing attack.
Warren will need a running mate in the backfield, and for this, the Steelers are likely to find their guy in the 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, in a deep running back class loaded with talent in the second round, Pittsburgh is without their second-round pick after trading for DK Metcalf.
While taking a running back in the first round isn't out of the question, the Steelers are likely to target a running back in the third or fourth round this April.
Jaylen Warren isn't perfect, but he offers much-needed depth and stability to the position with a 4.8 yards per carry career average in his first three NFL seasons. Don't expect the Steelers running back room to be complete until after the NFL Draft.