The Steelers only have one restricted free agent to address this offseason, but it's a potentially key player in the 2025 offense.
After playing through his three-year contract, Jaylen Warren is now bound for restricted free agency. Undrafted free agents, as Warren was when he signed with the Steelers out of Oklahoma State in 2022, only get three-year deals. Because players need to accrue four full seasons to qualify for unrestricted free agency, players such as Warren are still subject to the rights held by their original team.
With Najee Harris likely going elsewhere in free agency, Warren becomes a major priority to re-sign since the only current running back under contract is Cordarrelle Patterson, a potential cut candidate to shed $2.8 million in cap space.
There are a number of ways the Steelers can handle this situation. The most ideal way is for the Steelers to negotiate a new contract with Warren before the legal tampering period of free agency begins March 10. That's when Warren would have the right to negotiate with other teams, just as any other unrestricted free agent.
Should the Steelers not be able to hammer out a new contract prior to March 10, they could place a tender on Warren to hold onto his rights. Any of the various RFA tenders come with the ability to match an offer sheet from another team.
The question is what kind of tender should the Steelers consider for Warren. There's a first-round tender that would guarantee compensation of a first-round pick if Warren were to sign elsewhere. There's a second-round tender, which comes with compensation of a second-round pick, and then there's an original round/right-of-first-refusal tender, which doesn't come with any compensation. It only provides the ability to match an offer sheet from another team.
According to OverTheCap.com, the first-round tender this year has an estimated value of $7.279 million, the second-round tender is valued at $5.217 million and the right-of-first-refusal tender at $3.185 million. Should Warren agree to sign whatever tender that's placed on him, that's what his cap hit would be in 2025.
While applying a first-round tender would all but guarantee no offers from others teams, it would cost that $7.279 million in cap space. Even a second-round tender is pricy, too. Most likely, teams wouldn't be willing to part with a first- or second-round pick for Warren, but those two tenders would mean a significant increase in pay for the team's No. 1 running back. Even the second-round tender would cost more than the $4.151 million Harris made in 2024.
The most likely tender applied would be the original round/right of first refusal, which comes with no compensation since Warren was undrafted. It's a bit of a risk because there could always be a team out there willing to offer Warren more than the Steelers want to pay. If that were to happen and the Steelers let him walk, there would be no compensation for it. But, should the Steelers retain him through that tender, it would be with the smallest increase in pay.
Regardless of what tender the Steelers opt to apply to Warren, he's bound for a significant raise. He made $2.572 million over the three years he's played for the Steelers. Even the right-of-first-refusal tender would give him more than that in 2025 alone.
As stated earlier, the best way to solve this is to negotiate a new contract with Warren before free agency begins. Find a term that's fair for both the player and team, especially since he'd be in line to be the team's No. 1 running back, and make sure there's no chance he goes elsewhere.
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THE ASYLUM
Chris Halicke
6:21 pm - 02.05.2025DowntownHow to handle Warren's restricted free agency
The Steelers only have one restricted free agent to address this offseason, but it's a potentially key player in the 2025 offense.
After playing through his three-year contract, Jaylen Warren is now bound for restricted free agency. Undrafted free agents, as Warren was when he signed with the Steelers out of Oklahoma State in 2022, only get three-year deals. Because players need to accrue four full seasons to qualify for unrestricted free agency, players such as Warren are still subject to the rights held by their original team.
With Najee Harris likely going elsewhere in free agency, Warren becomes a major priority to re-sign since the only current running back under contract is Cordarrelle Patterson, a potential cut candidate to shed $2.8 million in cap space.
There are a number of ways the Steelers can handle this situation. The most ideal way is for the Steelers to negotiate a new contract with Warren before the legal tampering period of free agency begins March 10. That's when Warren would have the right to negotiate with other teams, just as any other unrestricted free agent.
Should the Steelers not be able to hammer out a new contract prior to March 10, they could place a tender on Warren to hold onto his rights. Any of the various RFA tenders come with the ability to match an offer sheet from another team.
The question is what kind of tender should the Steelers consider for Warren. There's a first-round tender that would guarantee compensation of a first-round pick if Warren were to sign elsewhere. There's a second-round tender, which comes with compensation of a second-round pick, and then there's an original round/right-of-first-refusal tender, which doesn't come with any compensation. It only provides the ability to match an offer sheet from another team.
According to OverTheCap.com, the first-round tender this year has an estimated value of $7.279 million, the second-round tender is valued at $5.217 million and the right-of-first-refusal tender at $3.185 million. Should Warren agree to sign whatever tender that's placed on him, that's what his cap hit would be in 2025.
While applying a first-round tender would all but guarantee no offers from others teams, it would cost that $7.279 million in cap space. Even a second-round tender is pricy, too. Most likely, teams wouldn't be willing to part with a first- or second-round pick for Warren, but those two tenders would mean a significant increase in pay for the team's No. 1 running back. Even the second-round tender would cost more than the $4.151 million Harris made in 2024.
The most likely tender applied would be the original round/right of first refusal, which comes with no compensation since Warren was undrafted. It's a bit of a risk because there could always be a team out there willing to offer Warren more than the Steelers want to pay. If that were to happen and the Steelers let him walk, there would be no compensation for it. But, should the Steelers retain him through that tender, it would be with the smallest increase in pay.
Regardless of what tender the Steelers opt to apply to Warren, he's bound for a significant raise. He made $2.572 million over the three years he's played for the Steelers. Even the right-of-first-refusal tender would give him more than that in 2025 alone.
As stated earlier, the best way to solve this is to negotiate a new contract with Warren before free agency begins. Find a term that's fair for both the player and team, especially since he'd be in line to be the team's No. 1 running back, and make sure there's no chance he goes elsewhere.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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