The thing many Steelers fans feared when he was released Saturday has come to fruition. James Harrison has signed with the Patriots, according to his agent, Bill Parise.
Reports out of the Boston area that Harrison was meeting with the Patriots cropped up early Tuesday. Later in the day, the Steelers' all-time sacks leader signed a deal with New England for the remainder of the season, just two weeks after watching them beat the Steelers, 27-24, when a touchdown catch by Jesse James in the closing minute was overturned via replay.
Harrison, 39, had not been happy with his lack of playing time with the Steelers, expressing his displeasure two weeks ago in an exclusive interview with DKPittsburghSports.com. Parise said the Steelers showed some interest in bringing the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year back at some point this season, but Harrison, who won two Super Bowls and played in another with the Steelers, wanted to play now.
"He was less than happy with the situation," Parise told DKPittsburghSports.com of Harrison's playing time with the Steelers. "Right now, he wants to get back on the field, win a Super Bowl and move on."
Harrison tweeted this photo of himself and 40-year-old New England quarterback Tom Brady:
According to Parise, the Patriots contacted him to inquire about Harrison's services during the waiver process. Parise said several other teams also contacted him, including some other teams that have already qualified for the playoffs.
"They felt James would clear waivers," Parise said of the Steelers. "We had some discussions at the time of his release about the possibility of re-signing with the Steelers at some point."
Mike Tomlin reiterated at his weekly press conference Tuesday that the release of the 39-year-old Harrison came down to a roster issue. The Steelers needed Harrison's roster spot to make room for offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert, who was reinstated after serving a four-game PED suspension.
"We make the decisions that we feel give us the very best chance to win," Tomlin said. "We needed the people we kept. We needed to activate Marcus Gilbert. Really, it's nothing more to it than that."
Harrison cleared waivers on Monday.
The Patriots could have been interested in Harrison, who has 82.5 career sacks, including 80.5 with the Steelers, because of a potential playoff matchup with Kansas City. The Chiefs beat the Patriots, 42-27, on the opening weekend of the season. Harrison has had a lot of success against Kansas City left tackle Eric Fisher, both this season and in the past.
New England is currently the top seed in the AFC playoffs, while Kansas City is locked in as the fourth seed. The Steelers are currently the No. 2 seed.
Parise said Harrison looked at signing with the Patriots simply as another opportunity.
"We've had some discussions of James playing next season, as well, but right now, this is just for now," Parise said.
Harrison saw his most extensive playing time of this season in a 19-13 win by the Steelers over the Chiefs, recording three tackles and a game-saving sack, on Oct. 15. Harrison played just 40 snaps this season for the Steelers.
Harrison had recorded at least five sacks in each of the previous three seasons but had lost playing time this year because the Steelers wanted to go with Bud Dupree and rookie T.J. Watt at outside linebacker.
Watt, who has six sacks this season, replaced Harrison in the starting lineup and has dropped into coverage more than any other outside linebacker in the NFL.