The Pittsburgh Steelers have informed veteran linebacker James Farrior that he will be released. Farrior played in a 154 regular season games for the Steelers after arriving as an unrestricted free agent in 2002. During his time as a Steeler he racked up 1,078 regular season tackles to go along with 30 sacks. Farrior was also the defensive captain for several seasons.
Farrior was about to enter his final year of his contract and was scheduled to count $3.825 million against the 2012 cap. His release clears $2.825 million of cap space.
Farrior was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 1997 NFL draft and played outside linebacker. He started just 43 regular season games for the Jets in his first 5 seasons in the league and the Jets allowed him to leave via free agency following the 2001 season. The Steelers moved him to inside linebacker in the 3-4 defense and Farrior excelled there. During his career as a Steeler he was a two-time Pro Bowler.
