Not looking good for Harrison!

[LatrobePA]

Report: James Harrison might be released by Steelers

By Marc Sessler

Published: March 07, 2013 at 12:00 PM PST

Modified: March 07, 2013 at 12:01 PM PST

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to talk with James Harrison 's camp, but with the sides no closer to a redone contract, the linebacker's future is hazier than ever.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Harrison could be released unless a deal is worked out by Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline, marking the start of the new league calendar. A source familiar with the negotiations told Bouchette the Steelers -- who must be under the cap by that time -- are asking Harrison to take a pay cut, leaving the sides stuck on numbers.

"We absolutely want to do this, we absolutely want to be in Pittsburgh," said Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, who declined further comment.

Parise told NFL.com's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday that both sides have worked "incredibly hard" on a new deal, but it was unclear at the time if Harrison, 34, was being asked to chop his $6.57 million for 2013. It's now clear the Steelers have no plans to pay him that amount or the $7.6 million he's due next season.

Steelers coaches still want Harrison in the fold , but there's a gap in expectations here. Few teams do a better job than Pittsburgh of locking down its own talent. If they want Harrison around, they'll get this done, but they aren't a team in the habit of overpaying aging players.

Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL .

[Big T]

@jharrison9292: Lets not worry about contract talk ppl, hopefully things will get worked out. I still have a lot of stuff to give away!

[LatrobePA]

@jharrison9292: Lets not worry about contract talk ppl, hopefully things will get worked out. I still have a lot of stuff to give away!

I'd rather they keep James vs Colon.

[Zachintosh66]

Let him bounce... Team players like Ben, AB and Timmons knows this is part of the biz.

Harrison and Wallace are about $ over wins... Let em go play for Clev, Oak, Jets etc... Go get fined while playing for another team.


Im still pissed James waited till half-way through training camp to have surgery. Not all his fault but is partially.

[Big T]

Ben, AB, Timmons' situations aren't the same as Harrison's. They restructured, not losing any money but getting the money up front instead of throughout the season. Again, they didn't take any less money. They are asking Harrison to take a pay cut, not just restructure. Big difference.

[Crash]

My guess would be if they are working hard to get a deal done, that the PAY CUT has been agreed to.

The hangup, IMO is Harrison wants to re-capture some money via performance bonus and the Steelers aren't willing to meet his demands.

I still think it gets worked out in the end.

[LevonKirkland99]

Well Harrison is getting old...he has done a lot for the Black & Gold, but we need to get younger on defense.

[jdehoff83]

I'd rather they keep James vs Colon.

Agree!

[ChucktownSteeler]

We need to squeeze one maybe 2 more years out of Harrison. Folks, we simply have nothing left on the LB shelf. Syvester? Carter? Worilds looks serviceable. Spence has a long way to go and may never be back. Johnson - A has been from Cinci? Foote is also an UFA, but will probably be back. Timmons and Woodley round out the group.

We need to come out of this draft with 2 potential starting LBs for the 3-4 defense scheme.

Yoi, how did we get in this predicament?

[cmerrifield]

It would be nice to keep Harrison for one more year, but at what cost? Dropping Colon saves us nothing. So would you keep Harrison, but watch Lewis go, or somebody else? I love Harrison and think he was almost back to himself last year at the end of the year, but where else could that money be spent, that's the real question for me.

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