On Tuesday the New England Patriots inked outside linebacker James Harrison to a one-year contract, which comes just a day after he cleared waivers to become a free agent. This transaction may seem weird when you consider that Harrison's a 39-year-old who's recorded three tackles while playing just 40 snaps this season. But it also may not seem weird when you consider that he played for the Steelers for 14 years (including the past four), and also that there's a good chance the Patriots play Pittsburgh because the AFC looks like garbage and the Steelers and Patriots seem destined to meet in the conference championship.
In addition to signing with the Pats, Harrison also was snapped in a selfie with Tom Brady, who holds the honor of being the only player in the NFL older than James who's neither a kicker or a punter:
According to Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, a major reason that the five-time Pro Bowl defender signed with New England is because of coach Bill Belichick's "reputation among players," as well as the team's "winning tradition." Parise also added that Harrison, who is Pittsburgh's all-time sack leader with 80.5, had interest from other organizations.
As for how the AFC playoff picture (which I mentioned above the IG embed) is shaping up, Pittsburgh is currently the two-seed following a controversial loss to New England last Sunday. Furthermore, both squads are 12-3 and are guaranteed byes through the Wildcard round. That means if they beat whoever the hell it is that they play in the divisional round a few weeks from now, they would meet up in the AFC Championship which will probably be in New England unless the Jets beat the Pats and the Steelers beat the Browns this Sunday.
