The Pittsburgh Steelers let Najee Harris go in free agency this past March. The former first-round pick signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, which naturally catapults Jaylen Warren into a larger role in the offense.

The Oklahoma State product is coming off somewhat of a down season in large part due to injuries. Even so, he averaged over four yards per carry and totaled north of 500 yards on the ground. In 2023, though, Warren had a terrific year. He averaged over five yards per carry and netted 784 yards rushing, as well as 61 receptions.

Entering the 2025 season as the No. 1 back, at least to start the season, will the Steelers look to lock up the shifty running back to a multi-year deal?

Baseline numbers for a Jaylen Warren contract

The running back market has been an enigma over the last several offseasons. For a stretch of seasons, running back struggled to get big-money deals no matter how talented they were. However, Saquon Barkley signed a $20.6 million per year deal this offseason, and Derrick Henry’s extension with the Ravens will pay him $15 million per year.

That said, a Warren deal won’t be anywhere near the likes of Barkley and Henry. Rather, the contract that Devin Singletary received from the New York Giants would be the right place to look when estimating what Warren’s deal could look like in terms of annual average value.

Singletary earned a three-year, $16.5 million deal from the New York Giants after rushing for 892 yards and four touchdowns on 4.2 yards per carry in 2023. Should Warren be able to get back to playing the way he did in 2023, this is the kind of deal we could expect for him, especially if Kaleb Johnson takes the steps necessary to be the team’s starting running back in 2026.

Jaylen Warren contract prediction: two-years, $13.2 million