It’s been four years since he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s been three seasons since he played at Acrisure Stadium, but on Sunday when he runs onto the field as a member of the San Francisco 49ers in his first game with his new team, defensive lineman Javon Hargrave believes he’s returning home.
Hargrave, who left the Steelers on March 20, 2020, to sign a three-year, $39 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, last played in Pittsburgh on October 11, 2020, a 38-29 Eagles loss in which Hargrave had half a sack.
Now, after signing a monster four-year, $84 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency this offseason, Hargrave is set to return to Pittsburgh on Sunday as a headliner for the 49ers defensively.
Appearing on Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast Tuesday, Hargrave spoke glowingly about his return to Pittsburgh, stating how much he’s looking forward to it and how excited he is to see “Renegade” again.
“God is good. I’m coming back to Pittsburgh for the first game. I don’t really count the COVID year because there wasn’t no fans when I came back. This is like the real, like, I’m coming home to where I first started,” Hargrave said to Heyward and co-host Hayden Walsh, according to video via ESPN’s YouTube page. “Like, I get to see y’all do the Renegade. I ain’t seen the Renegade in a while. I’m excited to play in Pittsburgh for my first game. This is the first one back in the city. So, yeah, I ain’t gonna say how much I’m excited until the game’s over, see how it goes, but I’m excited to come home and just play in Pittsburgh. It’s like the perfect thing for me.”
Things worked out quite well for Hargrave this offseason. After signing his huge deal with the 49ers, making him a marquee name at the position from a money standpoint, he also gets to make his 49ers debut in a place he’s quite familiar with, that being his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh and Acrisure Stadium.
Though it was called Heinz Field while he was a member of the Steelers, starting four years in the trenches and recording 168 tackles, 14.5 sacks and 46 tackles for loss in the Black and Gold, it is still the same stadium and playing surface, just with a different name on the front door.
The fact that Hargrave still calls Pittsburgh home is quite interesting, too, considering he hasn’t been here for now entering four years. But it’s a special place to him, the one where he got his start in the NFL and the place where he still has a number of great relationships to this day.
“That’s where I started. I came in the league there. So, I know that is home for me,” Hargrave said.
That’s awesome to hear from Hargrave. Even after all these years away and all the success he’s had away from Pittsburgh, the city with bridges and the three rivers remains home for him.
While he’s coming into Sunday’s matchup as part of the opponent, and a key piece the Steelers need to worry about defensively, it’s going to be a special time for the former third-round pick out of South Carolina State.
