Will James Harrison come back to the Pats
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Let me start off by saying we got WAY more out of the old dog than I thought when he joined the squad for the stretch run. I thought he would be an effective sub rusher in obvious passing situations. Maybe provide some inside info on the Steelers. Whatever. Instead he played 987 out of 989 snaps in the Super Bowl (number approx.)
I think James can help an NFL team next season. He plays a physical position but he goes HAM SANDWICH in the gym. Even if his snaps are regulated more than we did or more than he wants probably, he can still add value. And I don't think it will be a money thing at all. I'm not putting him in the DOLA hall of fame just yet, but I genuinely think he wants to win. He said he's playing one or two more seasons and he ain't doing that in somewhere like Cleveland.
We know that Bill loves himself a cagey vet, and in James' short time in New England the entire staff praised him on how hard he worked to learn the defense. Imagine if he gets an entire offseason. I know he didn't have the whole play book down, but he was setting the edge, he was getting to the passer, and he could cover in space. Most of the new players we brought in last year wouldn't know what the edge was if it took a shit on their face, so James was a welcome addition.
In the Super Bowl he vanished a little bit, probably because he was tired and because he is 40, and that right there is my biggest fear. Even if he comes back for pennies and is willing to reduce his snaps to keep him fresh, it's not gonna cut it for me. He's just too slow. It's not his fault. The dude could beat me to death with both hands tied behind his back. He's an #athlete. He's just not athletic enough. Anymore. 30 year old DPOTY James has a place on my team. This guy does not.
We have MY BOY Trey Flowers continuing to build on his red jacket career. We are already working on an extension for him. I am pumped about the second year leap Deatrich Wise is going to take. His concussion/lack of play sneaky cost me a ring. Then you get back Derek Rivers, our top pick last year, who looked good in camp before tearing his ACL. You get the true king HIGH back, who will never play a full season but you get it. Van Noy is apparently good. Langi almost died in a car accident but he looked fantastic in the preseason. I don't know if any of these guys are going to be studs but I do know they are spring chickens. At a position where we desperately need an injection of young blood, I simply don't have a place for James. Unless he wants to hit up Lance Armstrong (or literally any cyclist, you are still the champ Lance) and get some doped up blood in his system then his brief Patriots career is over. We'll always have Minnesota, and boy did that suck.
