Linebacker James Harrison is no longer the oldest player in the locker room as the longtime Pittsburgh Steeler signed a 1-year contract with the New England Patriots just three days after his sudden and shocking departure from Steel Town.
Despite his age, the Patriots need the 39-year-old Harrison. He plays a position that has been a season-long struggle for them to fill.
From retirements to injuries and trades that didn’t pan out, the Patriots hope that they have finally found their man to help them bring stability to the outside linebacker position as the postseason approaches.
He is one of the best in the game and throughout his career he’s had a franchise record 80.5 sacks for the Steelers. He will most likely help the Patriots rush defense, forcing opposing runners back to the middle of the backfield. He is still also capable of helping the Pats’ pass pressure as he can still rush the quarterback and that is a great help in the playoffs as New England will have to face some of the best passers in the game.
Harrison will be a situational player for the Patriots instead of an every-down player, but they are fine with that because they are really shallow right now at the defensive end and outside linebacker positions. After all, he is still a very intense player on the field that goes after the quarterbacks with everything he has.
Not that the Pats need it, but the 15-year-veteran may also be a source of insider information as he knows a lot about the possible quarterbacks the Patriots will face, the opposing offensive linemen and how to get around them.
Another longshot reason why the Patriots brought Harrison in might be due to the fact that they could end up facing the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round and he’s had a ton of success against the Chiefs’ left tackle Eric Fisher as Harrison seems to get a sack on Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith every time he plays them.
This is for New England a low-risk move that has the potential to help them enormously. If Harrison can help New England get another Super Bowl by helping the defense stop opposing runners, keeping quarterbacks scrambling as the pocket collapses and setting the example for the younger linebackers the Patriots will be glad they took a shot on him.
