Despite ‘click bait’ label, Cowboys-Najee Harris trade connection, rumors continue

The Pittsburgh Steelers' decision not to pick up the fifth-year option of running back Najee Harris sent what many felt were clear signals that the former first-round pick wasn't part of the club's future, especially after the apparent 2023 breakout of Jaylen Warren. So naturally, the next step was looking at possible trades for Harris to send him to a running back-needy team.

A search for NFL teams in need of a running back this offseason immediately ends up focusing on the Dallas Cowboys, a group that lost Tony Pollard this offseason and is currently set to enter the 2024 campaign with Ezekiel Elliott (again, this is 2024, not 2018) and Rico Dowdle as the top running backs on the depth chart. They have a clear need and, though there isn't a lot of financial flexibility, trading for Harris could fit right into their price range.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, or so it seemed, that might've just been all blustering with no substance. One insider referred to the Harris-Cowboys rumblings as "click bait" and that seemed to let the trade rumors die there.

And yet, they aren't going anywhere, which has to make you wonder about how real this could be.

Cowboys-Najee Harris trade rumors won't stop, even with 'click bait' label

Matt Holder of Bleacher Report recently pulled out his "BS Meter" regarding some of the ongoing NFL rumors throughout the league and Dallas' possible trade interest in Najee Harris was the first order of business. And playing the game of Buy or Sell for these rumors, Holder is buying that there could be something there with the Cowboys and the Steelers, calling it a "'where there's smoke, there's fire' situation".

"It would make sense for Pittsburgh to deal the 2021 first-round pick for future assets and the team would get a little more than $2.4 million in cap relief while taking on only about $1.7 million in dead cap, according to Over The Cap," Holder wrote. "Meanwhile, Dallas could use another running back and has roughly $5.5 million of cap space available.

"Granted, NFL Network's Jane Slater reported that the Cowboys dismissed the trade rumors as "click bait" and the team recently signed Ezekiel Elliot. However, that could be the front office trying to downplay their interest in Harris to avoid the price tag going up, and Elliot is past his prime."

Holder also noted that the "win-now" (or more infamously "all-in") mentality of Jerry Jones could make trading picks for Harris worth it in the end.

While it's hard to say exactly what's going on behind closed doors for both the Cowboys and Steelers, it's worth noting that the situation seems too perfect for everyone involved for this to just be "click bait" and nothing else. There's a player that Pittsburgh clearly doesn't value as part of the future and could lose for nothing next offseason, there's a team in Dallas that needs a player of Harris' caliber at the position, and the Cowboys have picks that they could move to make a deal which they could fit on the books.

It all adds up. And that's probably the reason that this isn't going to die down anytime soon. We keep hearing this connection be made despite attempts to downplay it, and other analysts are seeing the writing on the wall clearly of how much sense a deal will make. The only real question is if that trade gets made, which is always another matter entirely. But as of right now with what we see and know, it feels a bit misleading to say this isn't still a possibility for the Cowboys and Steelers.