In one of the busier off-seasons in recent memory, the Steelers made a tough decision releasing former Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison. While there were signs Harrison’s time was coming to an end, it is never easy to watch a talent like James Harrison be shown the door. While it will not draw comparisons to Peyton Manning’s departure from his long-time franchise, the Indianapolis Colts, Harrison was certainly viewed as an impact player within the Steeler organization.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert had this to say in a team statement. “We have informed James Harrison that we have released him,” Colbert said. “James has been an integral part of our success during his years in Pittsburgh and has helped us win two Lombardi trophies during that time. We appreciate his efforts and wish him the best.”
After Harrison’s agent, Bill Parise, told media that “We absolutely want to stay in Pittsburgh,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a story saying that contract talked with Harrison were “not going well.”
While ESPN’s Adam Schefter did break the news publicly, many Steeler fans who follow the team or Harrison could read between the lines when he sent out the following tweet beforehand.
Despite the bad breakup between the two sides, head coach Mike Tomlin had nothing but positive things to say about his former player. “James has played a major role in the success of this organization during his time in Pittsburgh,” coach Tomlin said. “I appreciate everything he has done in my six years as head coach and wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
Said Parise, “It breaks my heart.”
The release of the five-time Pro Bowler came on the heels of recent discussions about taking a pay cut. With the Steelers just under the salary cap, the team felt as if Harrison’s value was not there after a down year that was affected by injury. It is estimated that Harrison’s current contract would have come at a cost of $10.03 million against the 2013 cap, a price far too hefty for an injury-plagued player towards the end of his career.
Harrison was initially signed as an undrafted free-agent out of Kent State back in 2002. After an up and down roller coaster ride that saw him play in the European Football League, Harrison finally stuck with the team in 2004 after an injury to veteran linebacker Clark Haggans.
It was not until 2007 that the world finally saw just what the Kent State product was capable of. After the release of veteran linebacker Joey Porter, Harrison took the NFL by storm with his 8.5 sacks and 7 forced fumbles. Immediately after becoming a full-time starter, Harrison followed up with a performance that would lead to being named the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. A year in which the All-Pro registered 16 sacks and 7 forced fumbles.
After coming to expect a consistent dominating performance out of Harrison, he was quickly labeled one of the most dangerous linebackers to play the game. Though some have called Harrison a “dirty player” there’s no argument that there was special attention paid to Harrison’s as a result of his reputation to lay the lumber.
However, after signing his big paycheck in 2009, Harrison’s performance slowly leveled off season by season, which when coupled with the salary cap issues can lead to a team parting ways with said player. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, keeping a player like Harrison would have meant potentially losing higher priority players like Keenan Lewis, Emmanuel Sanders, and Larry Foote, to free agency. While this is still a possibility, the team is in a much better salary cap position to get some long-term deals offered to other players.
It will be tough to match the production that James Harrison gave the team during his time in Pittsburgh. In addition to five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2007-2011, a Defensive Play of the Year Award in ’08, the former Steeler will probably be most remembered for his outstanding play in a Super Bowl XLIII victory over the Arizona Cardinals. With the Cardinals driving to tie the game before the half, Harrison intercepted Kurt Warner for a 100-yard touchdown return as time expired, the longest such play in Super Bowl history. Harrison also was a member of the team that won Super Bowl XL against the Shaun Alexander led Seahawks.
For a team that was already hurting for depth in the linebacking corps, this move almost certainly warrants a pick-up in free agency or within the top 2 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. In-house candidates such as Jason Worilds and Chris Carter might be slated to replace Harrison on the outside, while another option would be to re-sign Larry Foote and move Lawrence Timmons outside opposite of LaMarr Woodley.
Pittsburgh has also been linked to Rey Maualuga of the Bengals as a potential free-agent pick-up, though this is merely speculation at this point. Only March 12 what is in store for the future of the Steelers and their linebacking corps, but rest assured, Dick LeBeau can get the job done with anyone.
