Will James Harrison play past 40?
It feels awkward to think of the day when James Harrison will no longer roam the line of scrimmage, but realistically, that time is coming sooner rather than later. They say age is only a number: and Harrison lives up to that cliche as the 39-year-old linebacker has been an ageless wonder.
When you come to think of it, Harrison has always been an ageless wonder. He really didn’t hit his stride as a player until ten years ago at age 29, when he racked up 8.5 sacks and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Those 8.5 sacks were over double the amount of sacks he had in his previous four seasons (4.0 total) after becoming the full-time starting outside linebacker in head coach Mike Tomlin’s first season with the Steelers.
Harrison would continue to terrorize opposing quarterbacks for the next four seasons, being named to the Pro Bowl in five consecutive years and earning All-Pro honors in 2008 (the same year he would be named the league’s defensive MVP) and 2010. In his final Pro Bowl season, 2011, injuries started to slow Harrison down. Missing five games, he was still able to accumulate nine sacks, but never reached the double-digit number he enjoyed from 2008-2010.
Missing three more games in 2012, the Steelers were at odds with what to do about Harrison’s contract situation. The linebacker would become a cap casualty after the two sides could not agree on a pay cut. Harrison would become a free agent and sign with the Cincinnati Bengals six weeks later. His time there would last one season, with the Bengals cutting ties after Harrison posted only two sacks as a situational player.
Later that same summer of 2014, Harrison announced that he would retire from professional football as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He officially called it a career on September 5th, 2014, before rumblings of his return surfaced following injuries to players on the current roster; namely Jarvis Jones, who was drafted a year earlier to become the team’s starting outside linebacker but was placed on injured reserve following a wrist injury.
Harrison rose from retirement to wrecking ball, recording 5.5 sacks in 11 games. He would sign an extension for two more seasons in 2015 and would finish out his contract by becoming the franchise’s all-time sacks leader.
Rather than hold on a decision to play again in 2017, Harrison immediately announced his return, signing on for another two-year extension which keeps the outside linebacker under contract through the 2018 season.
And thus the quandary: will Harrison play past his 40th birthday?
It’s customary for teams to sign players, particularly veterans, to longer deals in which the player is often released in the final year of their contract. However, Harrison’s situation appears to be different. Since he didn’t begin playing full-time until he was nearly 30, he doesn’t have the same wear-and-tear on his body as similar players approaching his age.
Yet, should Harrison continue to thrive heading into his 40’s, he would be only the third player in NFL history to do so at his position. We often see quarterbacks and kickers celebrate their 40th birthday in the league, but all but two linebackers have ever done so. Clay Matthews did so with the 1996 Atlanta Falcons, becoming the oldest player ever to record a sack. Junior Seau, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, did the same with the 2009 New England Patriots.
Harrison can continue to make history should he play out his current contract. He could become the oldest player to record a sack while adding to his franchise record. That’s something fans expect as the linebacker ages like a fine wine; getting better with age. As for now, Harrison appears primed to enter his 15th NFL season, and that will be his focus. But if history is any indication, we shouldn’t be so fast to put an expiration date on this Pittsburgh great’s career.
