PITTSBURGH — James Harrison made no secret of his displeasure over the fact he wasn't playing much for the Steelers this season in an interview with DKPittsburghSports.com two weeks ago, saying if he had known what his role was going to be, he would have signed somewhere else.
Apparently, he didn't keep those feelings to himself among some of his teammates.
A day after the 39-year-old linebacker was signed by the Patriots, several Steelers essentially said it was good riddance for the team's all-time sack leader to no longer be a member of the team -- even if that meant he signed with their biggest rival in terms of making a trip to the Super Bowl.
Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, told DKPittsburghSports.com Tuesday the linebacker just wanted a chance to play, but hadn't asked for his release. His former teammates, however, said that was not the case.
"He wanted that," said center Maurkice Pouncey. "James Harrison wanted that. It wasn't like the team came out and said we wanted to cut James. He wanted that. He needs to come out and admit that. It's funny to read the stories. This is something he wanted to do. ... He erased his own legacy."
Pouncey was asked if that was what he had heard about the situation.
"That's coming from what I know," he said.
The Steelers granted him his request Saturday when it activated offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert following a four-game suspension for PED use.
"He chose to leave," said third-year linebacker Bud Dupree. "He chose to leave and he did."
Everybody acting like Debo a victim y’all need to fall off a cliff or get the facts!
— Big Bud (@Bud_Dupree) December 27, 2017