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While we already knew James Harrison was going into retirement this season, today he will officially announce his retirement at the Steelers' South Side offices, as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
James Harrison will retire as a Steeler 2morrow. His 2 greatest moments: 100-yd INT return for a TD in SB43, and this pic.twitter.com/2M0vQnW2b4
— Alby Oxenreiter (@albyox) September 4, 2014
The formality of allowing James Harrison to retire as a Steeler is a symbolic token of respect on the part of a Steelers organization that benefited from nine years of his career. Three of those years saw Harrison recording more than ten sacks, two of which when the Steelers won Super Bowls, and one in which Harrison was awarded the NFL's defensive player-of-the-year award.
Though the Steelers didn't feel compelled to bring Harrison back into the fold for their defense this season, it's most definitely not lost on the organization just how much Harrison brought to the team during his career. His aggressive and hard-nosed style of play fits the mold of the tough defense the Steelers have always looked to uphold, and his knack for making the big play brought several great moments to Pittsburgh Steelers fans.