Following the Indianapolis Colts' Week 4 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, linebacker Zaire Franklin took to social media and labeled running back Najee Harris "soft."
The dig at Harris came after a picture surfaced on social media of Harris flipping off the Indianapolis crowd as he made his way out of the tunnel last Sunday.
Harris wasn't able to back up his double bird, as not only did the Steelers lose, the running back was also shut down to the tune of just 19 yards on 13 carries. He did, however, contribute in the passing game with three catches for 54 yards, including one impressive catch and run that proved he was anything but soft.
"Kid is soft," Franklin said of Harris after the game. "(Cordarrelle Patterson) run harder."
Kid is soft. 84 run harder https://t.co/lwsytZkzxS
— Zaire Franklin (@ZiggySmalls_) September 29, 2024
While we already knew why Franklin went after Harris, but he went into detail about why he took a shot at the Steelers running back during a recent episode of his podcast.
“I wouldn’t say I have personal feelings toward that guy, but what I will say is … you flipping off my city coming in and then you gonna go put out that type of performance — I’mma speak on that,” Franklin said.
#Colts LB Zaire Franklin on #Steelers RB Najee Harris:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 2, 2024
“I wouldn’t say I have personal feelings toward that guy, but what I will say is … you flipping off my city coming in and then you gonna go put out that type of performance — I’mma speak on that.” —> https://t.co/bWFdD0oyUP pic.twitter.com/xhmqLcvqNZ
Patterson, who was mentioned in Franklin's tweet, actually had a better game than Harris before exiting with an injury after he tallied 43 rushing yards on just six carries, and two receptions for 19 yards.
In fact, it was the best performance of any Steelers running back this season in terms of yards per carry.
Of course, Franklin is wrong when he says Harris is soft, and it was probably said just to get under the Alabama product's skin. After all, there's no better way to accomplish that than to call a football player "soft."
