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James Harrison decides to put off retirement for another year

James Harrison, shown in December, has spent 11 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
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James Harrison knows what he wants this year, and that’s to play another season of football.

Unlike in 2014 -- when he announced his retirement in August, only to come back a few weeks later to have a strong season for the Pittsburgh Steelers -- Harrison has made up his mind early that he wants to return to the NFL.

“I decided to hold off on retirement, so it’s time to pack up and head to AZ to start my training so I can be ready to play another year!” Harrison posted Sunday on Instagram, along with a photo of his packed luggage to back up his claim.

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The odd part of his announcement isn’t that he wants to come back for a 12th NFL season. Once he got back into playing shape after his 18-day retirement last fall, Harrison provided a spark for the Steelers defense, finishing with 5 1/2 sacks and reclaiming his role as a team leader.

The unexpected aspect is that he says he’s planning to start training. Um, has he checked out his own Instagram account lately? The guy loves posting videos of himself working out, and we’re not just talking about a couple of minutes on the elliptical either.

Anyone who’s interested can check out a multitude of the 2008 defensive player of the year lifting crazy amounts of weights in crazy ways. (The one of him doing so in shirt and tie is particularly entertaining.)

The big question now is, where will the soon-to-be-free-agent land? The Steelers would make the most sense for several reasons. Not only do they need depth at outside linebacker, but Harrison also makes his home in Pittsburgh and has played there in all but one of his pro seasons.

When he retired last year after a season in Cincinnati, Harrison said one reason was because he didn’t want to be so far away from his family. And when he came back last year, he posted a video of his young children agreeing to his playing again only because it would be in Pittsburgh.

It remains to be seen if that’s how it will play out again this year.

Twitter: @chewkiii

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