Steelers Brass Feels They Can Get a Deal Done w/ Harrison

Things seem to be getting a bit better between the Steelers and LB James Harrison, as reported today in the Tribune Review:

Team president Art Rooney II said Thursday he is “optimistic” the Steelers and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison will reach an agreement on a long-term contract. Harrison, who set a Steelers single-season record with 16 sacks in 2008 and returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII, is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $1.2 million in 2009. Signing the Pro Bowl outside linebacker to a multi-year deal is one of the Steelers’ top offseason priorities.

Bill Parise, Harrison’s agent, said he and the Steelers have talked regularly, but no breakthrough has been made. “Those things, they do tend to drag when you’re trying to extend somebody,” Rooney II said. Harrison has been taking part in the Steelers’ offseason workouts, which started this week.

It was reported last week that things were not going very well on each side, but you can bet that the team is going to keep working to get something done, and at the end of the day, I think a deal will be reached.