James Harrison isn't ready to walk away from football
PHOENIX – With so much talk about players retiring early in the NFL, linebacker James Harrison isn't ready to hang it up just yet.
Harrison retired briefly from the Steelers before last season only to return to the team. On Sunday, Harrison, 36, re-signed with the Steelers to play two more years, the team announced.
At a time when San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland's startling retirement at 24 years old due to concussion concerns sparked a national conversation, Harrison, a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker, said risk is part of the game.
"That's his personal decision. Good for him," Harrison told Paste BN Sports at the Biltmore Hotel before signing his two-year contract. "If he felt that walking away was what he needs to do, that's what he needs to do.
"I know what I think. Obviously, there's always a possibility of suffering concussions. If it happens, it happens. I hope it doesn't for me.
"It's part of the risk."
The 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, who turns 37 in May, returned to the NFL at the urging of coach Mike Tomlin and new defensive coordinator Keith Butler after early injuries thinned the team's depth, signing a deal Sept. 23 and playing well after he shed an added 15 pounds.
Harrison doesn't believe Borland's decision to walk away from the game after suffering what he felt was a concussion scare during the preseason, will spark a trend among younger players. Borland told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday morning that he's returning three quarters of his $617,436 signing bonus to the team.
Harrison was asked if he felt improvements in safety rules that led to a 25% reduction in known concussions last season, according to competition committee chairman and Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, influenced his decision.
"The game is no safer than it was. That's just part of the risk," Harrison said. "They made up a lot of rules, trying to make the game safer.
"But then they (owners) want to add extra games."
Harrison finished with 5 ½ sacks and 45 tackles in 11 games, playing well down the stretch after working himself back into shape. He was mulling between re-signing with the Steelers, who lost free-agent linebacker Jason Worlids to retirement and signing with the Tennessee Titans, where former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is assistant head coach/defense to head coach Ken Whisenhunt.
"You always consider playing for coach LeBeau," Harrison said. "If I didn't feel I had more left in the tank I wouldn't be trying to play again.
"I felt I did pretty well once I got back in shape."
Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians believes Borland is more outlier, independent conviction than tipping point toward growing retirement trend among younger players despite the recent retirements of Borland's fellow 49ers fellow linebacker Patrick Willis, 30, Worilds, 27 and Titans quarterback Jake Locker, 26.
"I think it's more of a personal thing," Arians told Paste BN Sports. "You see some of the guys who want to play with 10 concussions.
"Chris made the right decision for him. I don't think it's going to be a trend. I think it will be just the opposite.
"Guys love the game. And they know the risks. And they know what they're going to be like when they're 55."
Arians paused before adding,
"There was a study done when I was in college of the Olympic teams. You could win the Gold Medal and take this one pill, but you'd die at 30.
"Seventy-five percent took the pill to win the Gold medal. That was back in the 1970s.
"I don't think things have changed that much."
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Follow Jim Corbett on Twitter @ByJimCorbett