FOXBORO, Mass. — James Harrison is making his New England Patriots debut Sunday against the New York Jets, but it didn’t look like he was a part of the team prior to kickoff.
As the teams stood for the playing of the national anthem at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots lined up along the sideline, but Harrison elected to stand near the bench behind his new teammates instead of next to them.
Take a look:
As the Patriots lined up along the sideline for the national anthem, James Harrison stood alone by the bench. pic.twitter.com/X2hPth5aTz
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) December 31, 2017
While it is curious that Harrison wasn’t standing with his new compadres, it appears this is something the linebacker did when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers as well, according to PennLive’s Jacob Klinger.
As for his on-field production, Harrison didn’t play during the Jets’ first offensive series in which they went three-and-out.