New Bengals SLB James Harrison downplayed his transition to a 4-3 scheme.

During his nine-year reign in Pittsburgh, Harrison was strictly a rush linebacker in their 3-4. In Cincy, he'll play the SAM spot in base packages and attack the quarterback from the edge on passing downs. "It's not really a concern," Harrison said. "Some of the defenses that we do are the same terminology. The coverages are the same its just you might switch from side to side. I'll be playing sometimes stack like a regular inside linebacker that would play a 3-4."

Bengals signed SLB James Harrison, formerly of the Steelers, to a two-year contract.

The 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, Harrison will bring pass rush to the strong-side linebacker position in Cincinnati that Marvin Lewis has long sought. Although he is 35 now with an increasingly fragile body and must play limited snaps, Harrison remains a highly effective edge presence. He racked up six sacks, two forced fumbles, and 70 tackles last season despite missing three games and large chunks of others. Cincinnati's defense is otherwise returning intact after last year's No. 6 finish, and Harrison will add to it.

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport classifies talks between the Bengals and free agent James Harrison as "broken off."

It sounds like the ball is in Harrison's court to lower his price. That's something he was unwilling to do for the Steelers, so it's far from a guarantee he'll do it for the Bengals. Harrison has no other known active suitors. The one-time most feared player in the league turns 35 on May 4.