NFL News: Retired Former Steelers' Linebacker James Harrison Returns To The Squad

Less than a month of retirement, linebacker James Harrison has returned to his former team, Pittsburgh Steelers, according to the official website of Steelers.

Harrison is supposed to provide much needed depth to the Steelers in the linebacker position, as two of their players in the position are injured currently.

In their 37-19 win against the Carolina Panthers in NFL Week 3, the Steelers sustained 3 injuries. Linebacker Jarvis Jones suffered a wrist injury, cornerback Ike Taylor a fractured forearm and another linebacker Ryan Shazier an MCL sprain in his knee.

Jones has been placed on Injured Reserve/Designated list following wrist surgery meaning he will miss at least 2 months. Taylor also got his right forearm treated on Monday and it is still uncertain for how long he will be out of action. Shazier should be fit in two or three weeks’ time.

In the last game against Panthers, linebackers Arthur Moats and Sean Spence stepped in for the Steelers’ injured players. Depending on his game shape, Harrison’s first game should be against Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 of NFL.

Harrison retired in August this year, but less than a month of retirement, he is back again to NFL playing with his favourite team. He was released by the Steelers at the end of the 2012 season after a long association with the team that won two Super Bowls with him as linebacker.

With domestic abuse being a burning topic in the current NFL season, at his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin pointed out that he had discussed the issue of domestic abuse in the NFL in recent times with Harrison. He added that he was convinced it would not be a problem with Harrison as he had grown a lot over the years.

It is interesting to note that Harrison was arrested in March 2008 on charges of simple assault and criminal mischief arising from a domestic fight between him and his then girlfriend, Beth Tibbott. However, in the month of April of the same year, the district attorney in his case dropped all charges against him as he had undergone anger management and psychological counselling.

Also, recently Harrison openly criticized NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Twitter for his handling of the Ray Price domestic abuse incident.