The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering their bye week for the 2026 season and have a chance to get healthy coming out of it. This is particularly true on offense, with wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson both on Injured Reserve (IR). Despite a significant part of their wide receiver room being hurt, they are entering the bye on a four-game winning streak. One big part of that has been the performance so far of running back Jaylen Warren. Due to his performance so far in the 2026 NFL season, he was named as someone that is in line for an extension soon.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) runs the ball during the third quarter of an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium.
In Sunday's 27-6 victory over the division rival Cleveland Browns, he had his largest rushing output of the season. He came up just short of 150 yards rushing, but was a huge factor in a dominant division win. Now he is starting to receive well-deserved recognition for his performance that can lead to a payday from the Steelers.
On Tuesday, team insider Nick Farabaugh hosted an episode of the Steelers Breakdown podcast. While recapping this past week's victory, he was asked about the upcoming contract status of the Pittsburgh running back. He firmly believes that due to Warren's performances, he will be getting paid.
“[Jaylen Warren] is going into the last year of his deal next year. That seems like the most obvious extension candidate," Farabaugh said. "I expect Jaylen Warren to get paid very handsomely by the Steelers.”
The Pittsburgh running back has rushed for 704 yards through eight games played and that has also helped to mask the absences of two of their wide receivers. Head Coach Mike McCarthy was brought in to improve the offense and despite the injuries, they are still playing very well thanks to their workhorse rusher. He recently was able to receive some national recognition by former NFL wide receiver Julian Edelman, who is very high on the running back. He also has a very strong chance to win team MVP this season for his performance, an award that went to Kenneth Gainwell last season, who left in free agency.
Warren's contract is set to expire at the end of the 2027 NFL season. However, General Manager Omar Khan was very aggressive this past offseason to make sure that extensions were given out to a number of different players before the season began. That is a huge driving factor in Farabaugh feeling that the tailback will get paid handsomely by the franchise. The numbers speak for themselves for him as well, as he is currently sixth in the NFL in rushing yards. He should be able to stay in the top 10 heading into Week 10 following the bye week.
Steelers' Star Running Back Is Getting Better With Age
The Steelers running back signed with the franchise following the conclusion of the 2022 NFL Draft after going undrafted. Throughout that time, he has slowly worked his way into proving he can be a feature back in any offense in the league. The year he has enjoyed in 2026 to this point could be the level that he was trying to reach in his first few NFL seasons. Now he is making a strong case for himself and to also prove the comments of Edelman and Farabaugh to be correct.
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Steelers' Jaylen Warren goes down with the ball during a home win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2026.
The former Oklahoma State tailback just celebrated his 28th birthday this past Sunday. He also has not had this type of workload yet in his NFL career, so he seemingly has a lot left in the tank. His 2026 season has been a huge factor behind McCarthy's group finding their way to a 6-2 record entering the bye week while also sitting at the top of the AFC North division. For a player that has gone undrafted, he has shown the upside he can provide, and is poised to earn an extension with the team that they would be foolish not to offer.
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