Signing Harrison an intelligence gathering mission
When a linebacker who played in just five games this year gets cut and re-signs somewhere else, you don’t expect it to be a big deal.
But make that player a Pittsburgh Steelers legend, add some angry comments from his teammates, and, oh, make the team that signed him the always polarizing New England Patriots, and you’ve got this week’s NFL hot topic.
James Harrison was a premier linebacker for years for Pittsburgh. But his best seasons were some time ago, and he is now 39. So it was not too surprising that he spent a lot of time on the bench this season.
That did not sit well with Harrison, who asked to be released several times. After not playing during a loss to the Patriots on Dec. 17, he asked again. “If I didn’t play in the biggest game of the year, that told me I wouldn’t get any more snaps,” he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “So all that lip service you gave me before didn’t matter.”
Harrison got his wish and was released. You might expect a player of his age to struggle to find a new team, at least this season. But he was picked up by the Super Bowl-contending Patriots. Harrison signed for $1 million, though because he will play only one regularseason game, it will be prorated to about $59,000.
You might expect Harrison’s teammates to thank the veteran for his years of service and wish him well. Many did not. “A guy don’t want to be here, we don’t care,” centre Maurkice Pouncey told 93.7 the Fan. “Bye. Have fun.”
“We all tried to give him a chance just to be the leader,” defensive end Bud Dupree told 93.7 the Fan. “But when someone really doesn’t want to share wisdom with you or share knowledge with you because they feel like you’re going to take their shine or take their limelight, that’s how we feel.”
Dupree also said Harrison slept during meetings, skipped practices and once declined to visit a teammate in the hospital.
So this is the player that the Patriots wanted for the last game of the season?
When the Patriots are involved, fans look for ulterior motives. After the practice-filming contretemps and Deflategate, they can’t help themselves.
The Pats and the Steelers will be the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the playoffs and may well meet in the AFC Championship Game. Could Harrison’s signing be a sneaky way for coach Bill Belichick to get some inside information on the Steelers?
Former linebacker Jonathan Vilma, now an ESPN analyst, thinks so. “It’s all intel,” he said, dismissing the notion that Harrison could actually help the Patriots on the playing field.
But Harrison said Belichick had not asked him “one thing” about the Steelers’ playbook, The Post-Gazette reported.