LB James Harrison knows that if he’s going to be in black and gold in 2013, he will almost for sure have to take a pay cut to do it.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Harrison is open to the idea to restructure his contract in order to return.
“Change is part of the game, and no one can play this game forever,” said Harrison. “I‘ll wait for OTAs to roll back around and get out there, and whoever we‘ve got, I‘ll hit the ground running. I believe I‘ll be back. I‘ll have time to do the proper therapy treatment that I‘ll need and rehab my knee. I won‘t be out there trying to get it good enough so I can play the next week.”
Harrison, who has two years remaining on his contract and is scheduled to make $6.57 million next season. His contract will count $10 million against the team’s salary cap, so there’s a good chance that he’s approached about restructuring his deal to free up some much needed cash.
Harrison was one of the most dominant players in the league, but he has been dealing with a number of injuries in recent years. If Harrison is willing to take a pay cut and differ money, then it seems likely that he could be back with the team.
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George H
January 4, 2013 at 9:23 am
Hopefully this happens. Harrison started to make strides as he got healthier. If he can come into the season healthy, then this defense is a much better unit. Although, I would still draft his successor with an early rd pick in case he can’t stay on the field.
Black&gold4life
January 5, 2013 at 1:09 am
I like it
SBSteelers
January 5, 2013 at 3:16 am
If you are going to write for any journal, you need to learn how to spell. It is defer not differ. Spell check will never find this one.
Dave B.
January 5, 2013 at 7:23 am
In my opinion , after the way the 2012 season concluded , no players job on this team is safe , including James Harrison . If Harrison is willing to restructure and take less money to stay , then I say go for it . At best , hes probably got two more solid seasons in him , but after that , its probably time to move on . Outside of Roethlisberger ,Pouncey and Antonio Brown on offense and Timmons and Polamalu (provided hes healthy) on defense , theyre are no secure jobs on this team coming into 2013 . Thats what happens when you under perform and this team did BIG TIME .
Chip Douglas
January 5, 2013 at 4:09 pm
I think you’re being a little hard on the team, and that’s probably why you are not the General Manager. Injuries played a big part of the Steelers having a bad year plus the transition from losing many key players. No team can win the Super Bowl every year, and we in Pittsburgh are spoiled because we have a perennial contender. Don’t forget there are 31 other teams vying for the championship. With a few adjustments and additions the Steelers will be back, but the rookies need to get healthy and step up and a little luck wouldn’t hurt either.
Dave B.
January 5, 2013 at 9:11 pm
Theres no question that injuries played a huge part in the decline of the 2012 Steelers , that goes without saying . However you also have number one picks and veterans that underperformed BIGTIME . Number one pick Ziggy Hood and number one pick Cameron Heyward , where are they ? There names are never mentioned during the course of the game . These are supposed to be impact players which is why the team invested a number one pick on them . So far , the production is not there . Next up , one Lamar Woodley . A veteran outside linebacker thats supposed to be one of the best at what he does . He had a grand total of four sacks for the entire season and not one after November 18 . Once again , wheres the production ?
DrGeorge
January 9, 2013 at 10:35 am
I’m with you on your comment, Dave B. But Tomlin’s draft ineptitude goes way beyond Hood and Heyward, who have indeed been under-achievers. But how about last years #1 DeCastro and #2 Adams. Even before their injuries, they didn’t look NFL ready. DeCastro was weak and lacked technique from the start; he had trouble handling our defense in practice; and he blew out his knee early in Buffalo while getting steamrollered by an average NFL D-lineman. Adams has Starks disease (slow feet) and can’t pass protect or execute lateral run blocking assignments. Rainey and Paulson were late round winners; but Spence, Ta’amu, and Clemons aren’t worth talking about. Wallace #3 and Lewis #3A were the cream of 2009, and Mendenhall #1 was the only starter from the class of 2008, and he was never better than an average back. (His 1,000 yd. seasons don’t impress; every starting RB gets 1,000; it only takes 63 yards a game to do that).
Certainly, it isn’t all Tomlin’s fault. K. Colbert used to have more success than this, too. But the quality of our draft picks has decllined under Tomlin. And it has carried over into our UFA picks. Harrison above was an UFA, as was Nate Washington (remember him), and Willie Parker. We don’t seem to be finding the gems like we once did. Figuring out why is Tomlin’s job.
Jalen
January 5, 2013 at 10:35 pm
Oh, Vomit, Chip! Fans who settle for mediocrity and write hall passes are the ones who are spoiled if you ask me! Yeah we all know it’s unrealistic to win the SB every year butwe damn well better compete for it every year and now Tomlin’s boys have not competed in two of the last four years (three if you’re counting last year’s abomination against garbage QB Tebow). You show me any year that manning or Brady were on the field and ill show you a year that they competed for a SB!
The Tony
January 6, 2013 at 11:27 pm
Peyton Manning for years struggled in the playoffs. Remember, Ben has won more than Peyton. Also the Steelers were 12-4 last season. I agree though that it was inexcusable what happened in Denver
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Chip Douglas
January 5, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Glad to hear that, James Harrison is a good football player and all around good guy and a leader who has been dissed in a big way by being used as an example by R. Gooddell to prove he’s an advocate of some kind of PC football. The dude was playing by accepted rules established at the time and is a good hard player not the hit man they made him out to be.