James Harrison would "welcome" a phone call from the Pittsburgh Steelers to discuss a possible return to the team that released the former defensive player of the year after the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on a more salary-cap-friendly contract earlier this month.
That's what Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, told ESPN on Monday, a proclamation that probably had something to do with Elvis Dumervil signing with the Baltimore Ravens, the one team that had shown interest in Harrison, earlier in the day.
The five-time Pro Bowler has, in fact, been contacted by his former team ... but it wasn't to reopen contract talks. The Steelers have informed Harrison that they are not interested in bringing him back for the 2013 season, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Apparently the team feels comfortable enough with former backup Jason Worilds taking Harrison's place (or it has some other plan up its sleeve). At last week's NFL meetings, Coach Mike Tomlin sounded ready to see if the second-round draft pick from 2010 was ready to become the next in a long line of great Steelers outside linebackers.