James Harrison Announces Return to Steelers: Latest Comments and Reaction

James Harrison will give the NFL at least one more go-round. The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker announced Monday he'll return to the Steelers for the 2016 season, via an Instagram post:

It looked as though Harrison's days in the NFL were over in August 2014 when he retired after a largely underwhelming 2013 season with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, he came out of retirement just a month later to spend the 2014 season with Pittsburgh and then signed a two-year deal with the Steelers the following year.

The 37-year-old played in 15 regular-season games this past season, recording 40 combined tackles, five sacks and an interception. Following Pittsburgh's divisional-round exit, he was noncommittal about whether he'd return for another year.

"It's a little tougher for me because I'm in a situation where I'm a little uncertain about what I'm going to do," said Harrison, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I can't say that [was my final game] right now, I wouldn't be comfortable saying that."

Harrison admitted that to a certain extent, the decision was out of his hands, telling reporters the matter is "not as easy as I would hope," while alluding to his age.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was similarly reticent to comment on whether he expected Harrison to return in 2016, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Jasmine Goldband:

Harrison's return is great news for Pittsburgh. His numbers last year were impressive, and Pro Football Focus graded him Pittsburgh's best edge defender this past year. He clearly has something left in the tank and can help the Steelers in 2016.

Harrison is also a nice insurance policy for Jarvis Jones. While Jones took steps forward in 2015, he hasn't lived up to the billing of being the 17th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He'll be 27 years old in October, so he's no longer the kind of young prospect who warrants a wealth of patience.

In the event Jones either regresses or fails to show much improvement, having Harrison around will be a nice luxury. Then, with the strong chance Harrison retires after next year, the Steelers will have a much better idea of whether Jones is truly the present and future at outside linebacker.