The Pittsburgh Steelers will be enjoying the services of 37-year-old linebacker James Harrison for one more season. Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday that Harrison will be back in the black and gold for 2016.
"He's under contract for one more year," Parise said, per Fowler. "We plan to honor that."
Per Fowler, Harrison and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin held a "productive" postseason meeting, presumably assuring Harrison that a return was worthwhile.
And really, if Harrison's fellow Steelers defender Stephon Tuitt is to be believed, he's making the right decision.
Tuitt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he and Keith Butler's entire unit have high hopes for 2016 - the highest, in fact.
"We got nothing but high hopes," Tuitt said, per the Gazette. "We see the future looking very bright. You see what we can do. I personally believe we can be the No. 1 defense in the run and the pass and we're going to do it."
Of course Harrison and Tuitt, along with Cameron Heyward and Bud Dupree combined to create a defensive front that was already among the tops in the league in 2015. Taking another step next year likely falls at the feet of the secondary, which is facing a significant facelift if not an outright rebuild with five, count them, five, pending unrestricted free agents.
One of those free agents, Brandon Boykin, expressed interest in a possible return to the Steel City in 2016, but it may not be up to him, just as it's likely not up to William Gay, Antwon Blake, Will Allen or Robert Golden.
Some or at least a few of these players will be back next year, but the majority of them very well could be gone. Which, if the Steelers are to take that next step from good to great, could be a good thing, even if it's not necessarily an easy thing.
