If James Harrison was hoping for understanding from his former teammates regarding his signing with the Patriots on Tuesday, three days after his release by the Steelers, he might have to wait a while.
While his former teammates were upset the 39-year-old outside linebacker and franchise's all-time sacks leader was released Saturday by the team, they understood somebody had to be released to make room for offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert on the active roster. Gilbert was activated Saturday after serving a four-game suspension for PED use, prompting the release of Harrison.
But defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt told me on my weekly radio show with him on WDVE-FM and Steelers Nation Radio Tuesday night, just hours after news broke that Harrison had signed with New England, he was hurt that his former teammate would choose to sign with the Patriots.
"It does. It does a little bit," Tuitt said when asked if it bothered him. "Him as a player, him as an individual, it makes the most sense to him. He still looks out for his family. He has things he wants to accomplish as a player. Me saying anything else, that's just me being selfish. I'm speaking from a selfish standpoint. The Patriots picked up a great player. We know this already with what he brings to the table. That's the rep. For him to go there, for him, that's great. For us, we move on."
Harrison's signing came a day after the Steelers kept pace with New England atop the AFC standings at 12-3 by beating the Houston Texans, 34-6, Monday night. Tuitt said he expects the Steelers will discuss the signing when the team gets together again for a team meeting Wednesday morning.
"When we get back into the locker room (Wednesday) as a team, there will be some answers given," Tuitt said. "Most of the time we do things as a unit. We never do things separately. That's how rumors get started. We're going to get in, meet and we'll get information about the things going on."
That will give players an opportunity to ask questions of the coaching staff as to why and how this happened. And, maybe more importantly, give the Steelers a chance to begin having some closure as a group. Though Harrison had been a big part of the team's defensive efforts in the past, he had appeared in just five games this season, playing 40 snaps as he gave way to rookie T.J. Watt.
Harrison had expressed his displeasure at his lack of playing time to DKPittsburghSports.com two weeks ago, but hadn't said anything to his teammates, according to Tuitt.
"You never hear anyone in the locker room saying, 'Oh, I want to go somewhere else. I want to play there,'" Tuitt said. "The guy was still there, practicing and doing his workout videos."
But his agent, Bill Parise, told DKPittsburghSports.com Tuesday night that the Steelers tried to leave the door open to possibly re-sign Harrison at some point if they had a roster spot open up. Harrison, however, chose to go to New England, picking the Patriots over some other teams that also offered him an opportunity to play, some of which have also already qualified for the playoffs.
"He was less than happy," Parise told me. "Right now, he wants to get back on the football field and win a Super Bowl."
He'll be doing that with a team he watched beat the Steelers, 27-24, just two weeks ago, giving New England the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Steelers in the battle for the top seed in the AFC playoffs. Harrison was one of three players who dressed for that game but did not play. The other two were New England backup quarterback Brian Hoyer and his Pittsburgh counterpart Landry Jones.
Tuitt thinks this will just make a potential rematch between the two teams, which would have to happen in the AFC Championship -- which in itself would be a rematch from last year -- all the more intriguing.
"We're not going to try to throw shots," he said. "That's just going to make our rematch with them better. It's going to be some WWE-kind of stuff, 'Come back next week to see ...' When we get into the locker room, you'll be able to see the energy. We have a goal to accomplish. Imagine all of the things we did this year that could (have set us back). We have to continue what we've been doing.
"I think we're going to move forward because we've had to move forward through a lot of different things this year, a lot of different adversities. We're definitely going to move forward in that sense."
It's also a good lesson for many of the younger players on the Steelers' roster. If a player with Harrison's resume can be released and then chooses to side with the enemy -- a team he himself ripped in an interview with Men's Journal in 2011 -- it can happen to anyone.
"I should have another ring,” Harrison said. “We were the best team in football in 2004, but the Patriots, who we beat during the regular season, stole our signals and picked up 90 percent of our blitzes.”
He's also said in the past that the Patriots cheat.
Now, he's one of them.
"This is the NFL. If that doesn't show you how cutthroat the NFL can be, that's how it is," Tuitt said.
