Now that the Baltimore Ravens have come to terms Sunday evening with former Denver Broncos outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil on a long-term deal, it appears that they will no longer be interested in acquiring the services of former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reported on Sunday that Harrison was scheduled to meet with the Ravens Sunday night, but now that a deal has been struck with Dumervil, the need for Harrison to visit no longer existed.
As it looks right now, Harrison is quickly running out of possible landing spots. Tuesday will mark the beginning of the third week of free agency and several teams that run a 3-4 defense appear to be all but set at their starting outside linebacker positions.
Harrison also still has major competition on the free-agent market in the form of Dallas Cowboys unrestricted free agent linebacker Victor Butler, who is reportedly scheduled to meet with the Cleveland Browns on Monday. Although Butler is nowhere as accomplished as Harrison is, he is much younger and has tremendous upside.
Harrison was released by the Steelers just before the free-agent signing period after refusing to take a pay cut. While his agent Bill Parise has been active in trying to promote his client, there doesn\’t seem to be much of a market for the soon-to-be 35-year-old Harrison.
While many speculate that Harrison could return to the Steelers later this offseason at a greatly reduced salary, a move such as that likely wouldn\’t take place until way after the draft.
The Steelers, who currently have just over $2 million in cap space to work with, will pick up an additional $5.5 million of cap room on June 2nd, when the release of guard Willie Colon becomes official. Colon, who was designated as a post June 1st release, was turned loose just a few days after Harrison was jettisoned. He, however, has since signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets.
