The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a lot of moves over the last week. The latest one is an attempt to keep their defense as strong as the offense as they attempt to make it back to the Super Bowl again. The Steelers signed linebacker James Harrison, their all-time sack leader, to a new two-year contract that will make sure that he retires as a Steelers' player.
James Harrison's contributions to the Pittsburgh Steelers
To call James Harrison the all-time sack leader in Pittsburgh Steelers history is quite an accomplishment for the linebacker. At one time, the Steel Curtain defense included names like Mean Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Ernie Holmes, and L.C.
Greenwood. Those are some of the best players in Steelers' history. Even players in later years like Joey Porter fall short of the dominance of Harrison. Over his 14-year NFL career, Harrison has 79.5 sacks. While sacks were not an official stat until 1982, Mean Joe Greene has an unofficial 78.5 sacks in his Hall of Fame career, one behind Harrison.
James Harrison's decision not to retire in 2016
It was just a year ago that James Harrison was talking about retiring from the NFL completely. He said that his career was possibly coming to an end before speaking to head coach Mike Tomlin and deciding to return for the 2016 NFL season. It was a good year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They went 11-5 and won the AFC North.
The season ended with a loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, but Pittsburgh had lost some key players in that game, including LeVeon Bell. It was also a good year for Harrison. He had five sacks for the third season in a row but added 2.5 more in the playoffs and proved he still has gas in the tank.
Pittsburgh Steelers restocked for another playoff run
The James Harrison contract was just one of the three big moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this past week. They also extended the contract of wide receiver Antonio Brown, making him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL. Then, the team slapped the franchise tag on LeVeon Bell, ensuring he remains with the team. There are doubts that Ben Roethlisberger has much longer left in the NFL and the Steelers are doing everything they can to give him the weapons to win another Super Bowl title.
