The Steelers snuck another contract extension in before the start of the regular season, signing running back Jaylen Warren to a two-year extension on Sept. 1.
The financial details aren’t exact yet. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Warren will make “over” $7 million this year and the new deal overall has $12 million guaranteed. Rapoport’s colleague Mike Garafolo later added that Warren will make “just under” $17.5 million over the next three seasons.
Regardless, Warren is signed in Pittsburgh through
2027.
How would you grade the Steelers’ Jaylen Warren extension?
Warren’s approximate average per year of $5.83 million would make him the league’s 18th-highest paid running back, in between Tony Pollard and Devin Singletary. It’s not far above the many starting NFL running backs still on their rookie contracts.
Plus, with only $12 million guaranteed, Warren’s yearly cap hit — and potential dead cap hit — should never hit double digits.
Warren has never officially started a game, and he has just six career touchdowns. He’s never been a bell cow back and has struggled at times with ball security. However, the former undrafted free agent has been a tremendous value for the Steelers in the first three years of his young career, averaging 856 yards from scrimmage per season.
He’s undersized, but runs with great toughness, has receiving ability, and routinely delivers in pass protection.
While the Steelers might plan on making rookie running back Kaleb Johnson the team’s starter down the road, Warren projects as the team’s RB1 to open the season and has clearly established himself as a high-end RB2 at worst in the NFL.
Securing Warren long term with low-end RB1 money is both a team-friendly deal and a roster move that rewards a player who has long been one of the Steelers’ most underrated contributors on offense.
The extension wasn’t a must-happen signing or some work of genius by general manager Omar Khan, but it makes sense for both sides and comes with very little risk. It earns an initial “A” grade in my book.
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