(Matthew Emmons/USA Today Sports)
A couple of days ago, it looked like the Cincinnati Bengals had a long shot with signing James Harrison considering the two sides just couldn’t seem to come up with an agreement on a deal for the 2013 season. Now, it looks like the Bengals have landed the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker after all–giving them a boost to the defense for the 2013 season.
And so, @jharrison9292 has a two-year deal with the #Bengals. Wonder how he’ll feel about facing the #Steelers twice in 2013…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 19, 2013
Cincinnati and Harrison agreed to a two-year deal on Friday as this is an excellent move for a team that has been on the rise over the last two seasons. The Bengals were expected to go through rebuilding mode a couple of years ago, but they’ve managed to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons thanks to a steller defense and great leadership by Andy Dalton.
It’s one thing to fill one of the team’s holes at linebacker, but this move is even sweeter when considering how many years he spent with the Steelers. What makes this even more exciting is Harrison will get to face his former team twice next season in the national spotlight as the Bengals and Steelers earned both a Monday and Sunday night matchup during the regular season.
Look out AFC North–the Bengals are ready to make another run at the playoffs and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they made a strong run for the division title as well–especially since they have a solid linebacker like Harrison on board for the 2013 season.
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