Throughout their history, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had numerous unbelievable defensive players. Their history on that side of the ball is rich, but no player may have been as intimidating as James Harrison. Throughout the 2000s and the 2010s, Harrison was arguably the scariest player on the field, demolishing opposing offenses. Now, he’s trying to find his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s having some trouble hearing his name called. Ben Roethlisberger recently revealed a reason Harrison shared that could be tripping him up.
“We talked about that,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “I said, ‘James, what’s the knock? What’s the issue?’ He goes, ‘I only started six years of football.’ He goes, ‘I played 15 or 14 [years], but I only started six years.’ His body of work, they’ll sit there and say, ‘He only had 80-some sacks,’ where now Cam [Heyward] is gonna have 100 as a defensive lineman.
“So, that’s the knock on him. Look at the body of work for the amount of time played. Don’t look at it and say, ‘He played for 15 years and only had 80 sacks.’ He played for six years and had 80 sacks.”
That makes sense as to why Harrison might struggle to be inducted. The Hall of Fame is a tough club to join, with loads of excellent players never getting their names called. It’s reserved for the best of the best. Although legendary players like Roethlisberger believe he should be inducted, a player’s stats hold great weight with voters.
On paper, Harrison’s career might not stack up with other great pass rushers in history. He’s only had 84.5 sacks, 34 forced fumbles, and eight interceptions over his 15-year career. Compare that to Dwight Freeney, a pass rusher who played in Harrison’s era and was inducted in 2024. Over his 16-year career, Freeney posted 125.5 sacks, a far greater number than Harrison.
However, Roethlisberger makes a good point when he says Harrison compiled most of his sacks over his six-year period as a starter. In those six years, Harrison put up 6o sacks. He also made five Pro Bowls and was named a First-team All-Pro twice and a Second-team All-Pro twice.
Most importantly, Harrison won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008. Coincidentally, that’s the same year he helped the Steelers win a Super Bowl with one of the best plays ever. Those factors add to his legacy, putting him in the same conversation with players like Freeney.
It’s unclear if Harrison will make the Hall of Fame this year, but he should be inducted one day. Even though his career as a starter was short, he was one of the best players of his generation. He might not have the high sack numbers, but when looking at the context of his career, that shouldn’t be a huge point against him. Harrison was a Hall of Fame-caliber player, and he should be recognized as such.
