Though James Harrison announced on Twitter last night of his intentions of coming back to play in 2015, anyone who has been watching his lifting regimen at the Steelers facilities probably knew this announcement was coming. For Harrison, his impressive routines that were consistently making their way on to social media seemed to be a message not only to fans, but the Steelers management.
The message was clear: James Harrison isn’t ready to call it a career quite yet.
Now the question becomes are the Steelers ready to commit to Harrison for another season?
Despite of missing five games and playing a number of others in a time share with Arthur Moats, Harrison came to the Steelers last season after an injury to Jarvis Jones and contributed 5.5 sacks and 45 total tackles. Harrison saved some of his best efforts for the biggest games as the Steelers were in pursuit of an AFC North division title, and this included a seven-tackle, 1.5-sack performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in late December.
The performances of Harrison late in the season seemed to indicate that the soon to be 37-year-old still has something left in the tank, but will the Steelers feel the same once Harrison officially becomes a free agent on March 10?
What is clear is the Steelers could use help desperately at outside linebacker. With Jones the only experienced linebacker officially under contract, and Jason Worilds very likely playing elsewhere next season, will the Steelers consider Harrison as a viable option?
With so little depth at the position, it seems likely that the Steelers will need to bring in multiple players. The draft is one potential option, and there is some talk that Moats could be brought back at a reasonable price. As we have seen already with Jones, leaning on a rookie to make an impact as a starter is not likely to work, and as good as Moats last season, he has the feel of a backup, not a starter for a team with aspirations of a Super Bowl.
There seems to be little risk in bringing Harrison back on a one-year deal if the price is right. He’s taken care of his body and despite of his age, has really only been a full-time starter in the league for eight seasons. There’s reason to believe Harrison might have something left in the tank, and bringing him back might give the Steelers an additional year to bring along a young player without having to play him before he is truly ready to contribute.
It seems likely that Harrison will either sign with the Steelers or retire. He said as much last year, and has indicated that being close to his family is a key factor to his decision to continue playing. After last season, it’s possible other teams might be interested (cue the Arizona Cardinals) but it would seem likely that Harrison will give the Steelers every opportunity to keep him in the fold.
Though it’s understandable that sometimes it’s just time to move on (cue Ike Taylor) it might make a lot of sense to bring Harrison back for one more year. He’s never going to be the player he was once upon a time, but he can still be an impact player in 2015.
