Notorious cheap-shot artist and Steelers icon James Harrison last set foot on the field in 2017, but he is back in the headlines today. In an interview on Barstool Sports’ “Going Deep” podcast, Harrison said that Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin handed him an envelope after Harrison laid a brutal hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi in October 2010 (story via TMZ).
“And, I ain’t gonna lie to you, when that happened, right? [T]he G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that,” Harrison said. “I ain’t gonna say what, but he handed me an envelope after that.”
The clear implication, of course, is that the alleged envelope contained money, either as a “reward” for the hit or to help Harrison pay the ensuing $75K fine from the league. One way or another, it could spell trouble for Tomlin if the league chooses to investigate (though since the alleged incident took place prior to sanctions being levied in the Saints’ Bountygate scandal, that may not happen).
Team president Art Rooney II, of course, denies the allegation (via Mike Florio of PFT), and so does Harrison’s agent, Bill Parise (via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). After the public tied Harrison’s comments to Bountygate, Harrison himself took to social media to deny that Tomlin gave him a “bounty,” but he notably did not deny that the envelope helped offset his fine. Most likely, this will all be forgotten in short order, but it will be interesting to see if the NFL does decide to launch some sort of investigation.
Now for more from the Steel City:
- New Steelers tight end Eric Ebron has passed his physical, as Ebron himself announced (via Twitter). An ankle injury wiped out his 2019 season almost completely, but he still managed to land a two-year, $12MM pact with Pittsburgh, thanks in large part to his Pro Bowl performance in 2018. He will join fellow tight end Vance McDonald as a seam-stretching target and red zone threat for Ben Roethlisberger.
- After a promising 2018 campaign, Steelers RB James Conner was limited by injuries in 2019, and he averaged a full five fewer runs per game last season than he did the year before. But Tomlin prefers having a bell-cow in his backfield, and he hopes Conner can return to that role in 2020. “James is a featured guy and proven runner when healthy,” Tomlin said (via Rutter). “We’re excited about him getting back to health and displaying that in 2020.” Conner is entering a contract year, so a return to form as the Steelers’ RB1 could also land him a nice payday.
- The Steelers may be in the market for a nose tackle after losing Javon Hargrave to the Eagles in free agency, as Mark Kaboly of The Athletic writes. While pure nose tackles are going the way of the dodo, Hargrave was so valuable because of his ability to generate pass rush from the interior while also serving as a traditional NT against power-running teams, but those players are tough to find on the open market. If the club makes a move to add a veteran via free agency or trade, Kaboly believes it will not happen until after training camp. Until then, Daniel McCullers and seventh-round rookie Carlos Davis will attempt to fill the void left by Hargrave.
“Notorious cheap-shot artist”
Rory certainly knows how to get himself off someone’s Christmas card list…lol.
I certainly don’t remember him that way.
But, he does need to quit running his d**n mouth and just go away.
he took out massaquoi, josh cribbs and colt mccoy in the same year
The hit on Cribbs wasn’t cheap, Josh who was and still is his good friend, was sliding down when Harrison was lining up the hit so it ended up worse than it should’ve.
Agreed. None of the hits were cheap.
Harrisons nickname was the Silverback and that’s just the outcome of getting tackled by the alpha.
oh gosh what a scandal. this one will bring down the entire league.
Discovering the identity of the grassy knoll shooter pales in importance to uncovering the secret of this envelope…lol.
I feel like Conner’s set for a rebound campaign. Everyone in Pittsburgh thinks he sucks because he happened to get injured last year. However, he can still catch passes and he’s running behind a quality o-line. I could see a 1,000/500 yard season if he gets at least 14 games in
IF he gets at least 14 games
He’s played at least 13 games 2/3 seasons. He’ll be fine
Why doesn’t the article include Harrison’s statement today that he was never paid to hurt another player? Guess that would make the story a little boring
My bad, just saw it now, but his agent also denies any payment as well
did you read the 4th paragraph?
Yeah!
Nixon wasn’t a crook.
Clinton never “slept” with that woman.
Bonds didn’t know Balco and lie to the grand jury about taking PEDs
Just cause people say they didn’t do this or that actually doesn’t make it so. I know hard to believe….people lie.
The point is Tomlin helped pay for his fine,
But didnt premeditate it by paying him to hurt someone.
Big difference. Still punishable? Maybe.
“Notorious cheap shot artist” good to know that PFTR isn’t having biased idiotic hacks writing these articles. Oh, wait….
What’s worse, a “biased idiot hack” writer OR someone who voluntarily comes to read the work of the writer that she considers a “biased idiot hack” and then whines about it?
The first one
Agree.
I mean hard to argue Harrison was a dirty
Player
Butkus was accused of being a dirty player in his day. He defended himself by saying: “Well, I’m not being paid a large sum of money to merely go around hurting players feelings”.
Tomlin would have been better off going to a spa full of trafficked women in Florida and being videotaped. Then he could just deny it.
Or. He could just deny it
Would love to see Tomlin suspended a few games…Steelers have a history of those type of dirty plays
Can you please document the history of those type of dirty plays? And to add credence to your claim perhaps you can list the dates and dirty plays of every NFL team since, let’s say, 2010? Or you can refrain from making generalizations without documentation. Let’s not let the facts get in the way of an accusation.
Are you denying they have a history?
Imagine being a contending team and having to rebuild an offence in FA.
Could’ve got Dalton at QB for 3mil
Melvin Gordon at RB for 8mil
Eric Ebron at TE for 6mil
Robby Anderson at WR for 10mil
Breshard Perriman at WR for 6.5mil
That’s 5 players salaries totaling the same amount of money Dak Prescott wants to himself.
All of those players are terrible.
So prob better to sign ur above avg QB n stop crying.
Dak Prescott is asking for the same amount of money as Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson, and he’s not nearly as established or successful as any of those guys. All three have Super Bowls and are all-pro. Dak has won a single playoff game in four years, while surrounded by an outstanding offense, and I struggle to put him in my top 10 at the position. He’s not worth the money.
Its called free market and you pay what hes worth now, not what those guys were worth then
Screw Tomlin.