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Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin took a shot at Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris following the Colts’ 27-24 win on Sunday.
Franklin quoted a photo of Harris appearing to make an obscene gesture in the tunnel before the game and called him soft.
“Kid is soft,” he wrote on X (h/t ESPN’s Brooke Pryor). “84 run harder.”
Whether something else sparked Franklin’s comments is unclear, but he wasn’t afraid to share his thoughts on Harris with the public after the game.
Franklin backed up his talk with his play on Sunday. He picked up nine tackles in the win and helped the Steelers’ defense shut down Harris, who had just 19 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
After Sunday’s contest, Franklin is up to 41 tackles on the year, a strong start following his career-best 179 tackles in 2023.
Despite his struggles on Sunday, Harris has been decent through the first four games of the season, collecting 228 rushing yards and 84 receiving yards, though he has yet to find the endzone so far this year. The Alabama product has put up 1,000-plus yards in every season of his career so far and he’s looking to do so again this year.
While Pittsburgh and Indianapolis won’t play again this season, there could be an interesting rivalry forming between Franklin and Harris.