By the time Najee Harris had his introductory press conference on Friday after signing with the Los Angeles Chargers as an NFL free agent, he already had had two workouts with Ben Herbert, the team’s executive director of player performance.

“It’s a great weight room,” Harris said. “First of all, even the facility is all great things, man. This is a lot of things that they provide here, man, that you take advantage of. And I was just telling them, I was like, ‘Man, it’s not like this everywhere.’ This is a special thing right here. It reminds me of college at Alabama, all the resources that they have, so just getting the chance to take advantage of all these opportunities, this is a blessing.”

Training is important to the former Alabama All-American. Since entering the NFL in the first round of the 2021 draft, he has started every Pittsburgh Steelers game. No other NFL running back in that span has even played in every game.

“I always try to do the little things in the offseason,” Harris said. “There’s certain times you got to be in the weight room, and then sometimes I try to spend a good amount of time in the (physical-therapy) room working on the small muscles, swimming, maybe doing little, small things that the weight room can’t provide. I was working on the smaller muscles, and it translates to the field. Then there’s times you work on going to weight room and you work on the bigger muscles. And then I just, I guess, stretching and yoga, all that stuff, all that plays a part in how to stay durable and last long.”

Harris was available to sign a contract with the Chargers after Pittsburgh passed on its chance last offseason to use its fifth-year option on his contract for the 2025 season, then seemed to make little attempt to re-sign him, even though the running back posted four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the Steelers.

“Me and (Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin) were pretty close in a certain way,” Harris said. “So I knew kind of, sort of, what was coming. I didn’t plan on doing it. It wasn’t something that was in the plan or anything. But it’s a business. Coach T told me that when I was a rookie. And even in my last year, he would tell me, like, ‘This is the business side of things. You’re just seeing the business side of things.’ And I just took that, and I understood it. And I just knew that that would be my last year. Maybe a couple games, maybe like halfway through to the end of the season, I kind of knew that.”

Under coach Jim Harbaugh, Harris said the Chargers had what he was looking for in free agency.

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“The identity, really,” Harris said. “What type of team it will be offensively. What type of offense is this going to be? I’m pretty sure that they have that identity here, and I just wanted to be a part of that. …

“The identity here is, obviously, to play hard-nosed football. Harbaugh, even being with the Niners, at Michigan and even here, you kind of see his style of game. Obviously, he’s running the ball. But obviously building around the quarterback, too, and what they got in (Justin) Herbert. And I think that’s what it starts with, too, is at the quarterback position, and that’s what they have here.

“And to be a part of that is something good.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.