The Pittsburgh Steelers surprised a lot of people when they released franchise sack leader James Harrison last week.
Then on Tuesday, days before the final regular-season game of the season for NFL teams, the pass rusher was spotted at Logan Airport in Boston, which sparked the idea he could be there to talk to the New England Patriots.
Just got word of a James Harrison sighting at Logan Airport this morning. Patriots Nation, that would be awesome. #WBZ
— Steve Burton (@SteveBurtonWBZ) December 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/Zack_OTC/status/945724427664273409
https://twitter.com/WillsWorId/status/945722319149953029
What’s funny is that, when the Steelers released Harrison many automatically assumed the best landing spot for the grizzled veteran would be New England.
@Patriots Recruiting James Harrison like… #Patriots #Patsnation pic.twitter.com/KdDS2IXvZ6
— D.Clark (@DeeGo2Guy5294) December 23, 2017
James Harrison is going to sign with the Patriots and I don't think I will be able to handle it.
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) December 23, 2017
Steelers release James Harrison
Patriots sign James Harrison in 3..2..1.. pic.twitter.com/aqh83kdHSg
— 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 (@TommySledge) December 23, 2017
This is me when the Patriots sign James Harrison. 😭 pic.twitter.com/HFI8JwSmLB
— Elias McMillan (@eliasmcmillan) December 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/ezlazar/status/944663061348147200
The Pats do need help on the edge of their defense. One of the biggest areas of weakness for Matt Patricia’s defense has been getting consistent pressure, even though the team does have 38 sacks this year. No single player has more than 6.5 sacks so far this year, which is pretty low given there is just one game left.
Harrison was hardly used this year in Pittsburgh, as the Steelers went young on the edge. He might still have some gas left in the tank, however, and still has a mountainous chip on his shoulder, which has been there ever since he went undrafted back in 2002 out of Kent State.