A Cowboys-Steelers trade to give Najee Harris a home who will care about him

What exactly are the Pittsburgh Steelers doing? Despite being an incredible performer for them over the last three years, they are not extending the fifth-year option to running back Najee Harris. Even more maddening, new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loves to pound the rock. The logic going on in Pittsburgh is anything but that. I know at least one NFL team that would love to deal for Harris now.

The Dallas Cowboys are in the final year or so of their competitive life cycle. Dak Prescott is due for another contract. Unless the Cowboys do something they haven't done since the Bill Clinton administration and get to the NFC Championship Game, this will be Mike McCarthy's last year leading America's Team. One way to prevent that from happening would be to trade for a player like Harris.

It won't take as much as you would think, but here is how we get Harris onto the Cowboys in a trade.

With the 2024 NFL Draft firmly in the rearview mirror, all it may take for the dollars to make sense is a fourth-round pick next year going the Steelers' way to get Harris. It would be a slight premium on the side of the Cowboys to make the deal, but we are only talking about a $300,000 discrepancy in APY. I get that Jaylen Warren might replace Harris long-term, but the Steelers have me questioning things.

For two teams that are trending down in my opinion, I am not sure a trade makes either team better.

How to get Najee Harris onto Dallas Cowboys in a blockbuster trade

For a guy who has rushed for over 1,000 yards in all three years he has been with the Steelers, as well as his final two years as the featured back at Alabama, why would Pittsburgh not want to keep getting this kind of investment on a second contract? There may be some issues about how much tread is still left on the tires, but I don't see Harris slowing down any time soon, unless Smith runs it out of him.

For the Cowboys, what other options do you have? Ezekiel Elliott is back, but a shell of his himself. Otherwise, it is a bunch of Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle. The Cowboys' best running back now plays for the Tennessee Titans in former Memphis star Tony Pollard. How could Dallas screw up this running back room so badly? Regardless, Harris should improve this, if only for one full NFL season...

To me, I think it is too late in the process for the Cowboys to orchestrate a trade for Harris. They still need to figure out what to do with Prescott long-term. Surely, it will be another long and painful offseason, one in which Prescott's contract will be more in the headlines than his play. All the while, teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers will not be going way in the NFC.

Trading for Harris is a temporary solution to a larger problem in Dallas. That would be Jerry Jones.