It’s a joke. But any good joke has a layer of truth in it. James Harrison posted a photo on his Instagram, showing him seated during practice, with a caption that takes a jab at how the Pittsburgh Steelers have been using him. Take a look.
If you can’t read the caption, it says: “Getting practice at what I do at the games.”
Harrison has played three snaps over the last two weeks, all coming in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears. Even with injuries that have hit the group, Harrison has almost entirely been left on the sidelines.
Mike Tomlin was asked about Harrison’s role, or lack thereof, yesterday. He said the outside linebackers generally did their job, meaning there was no compelling reason to play Harrison.
“I don’t know if it was specifically the outside linebacker position that was viewed as an issue in that game. And James speaks to the outside linebacker position. Largely, we gotta do a better job of minimizing the run. I’m not singling out any position and I think a a discussion about his participation or his non-participation does that.”
With T.J. Watt going through a full practice today, the odds don’t look good for Harrison seeing a bump in playtime in this week’s showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. So Harrison better get comfortable with the bench again.
