May 2, 2016 3 min read

It wasn’t exactly smoke signals from the desert, as general manager Kevin Colbert joked Saturday, but linebacker James Harrison has confirmed he is returning to play for the Steelers in the 2016 season, ending months of speculation.

Harrison, who had been working out the past two months in Arizona, sent out a photo on Instagram Monday of himself walking out of the tunnel at Heinz Field with the caption, “I’m back.”

He also noted in the comments that, “I’ll be 38 on Wednesday and I’m feeling just like a fine wine. Getting better with age.”

Shortly after Harrison’s post, the team, which made no formal announcement since Harrison is under contract for 2016, simply replied on its Twitter feed, “What he said.”

When asked Saturday whether Harrison was returning, Colbert quipped, “As far as I know. Unless there’s been some tweets from the dessert that I haven’t gotten yet.”

Head coach Mike Tomlin followed that up with, “He’s working out awfully hard for a retired guy, isn’t he?”

That turned out to be the case.

Also Monday, the Steelers re-signed veteran quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, while ESPN reported the team declined to pick up the 2017 option for outside linebacker Jarvis Jones.

Harrison, the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is scheduled to earn $1.25 million in 2016 in the final season of a two-year deal he signed in 2015. The Steelers talked him out of retirement early in the 2014 season when linebacker Jarvis Jones suffered a wrist injury.

The 13-year veteran, whose 74.5 sacks with the Steelers are second-most in team history, had 40 tackles and five sacks with two forced fumbles and one interception in 2015 when he played in a rotation with Jones, Arthur Moats and first-round draft pick Bud Dupree.

Once the team failed to acquire another quarterback in free agency or add one in the draft, it became apparent Gradkowski would return. Gradkowski, 33, was signed to a one-year deal to return as a backup to Ben Roethlisberger.

Gradkowski, a 10-year veteran, has been with the Steelers since 2013, appearing in one game. He missed the entire 2015 season with thumb and shoulder injuries, but will battle Landry Jones for the No. 2 quarterback position behind Roethlisberger.

Gradkowski has appeared in 37 career games, making 20 starts. He has 4,057 career passing yards with 21 touchdowns.

The team, meanwhile, had until midnight Monday to make a determination regarding whether it would pick up the fifth-year option on Jarvis Jones, its 2013 first-round draft pick, at a cost of $8.4 million.

If the Steelers had picked up that option year, it would become guaranteed money if Jones were on the roster next March when the new league year begins, though he could be released before that at no cost.

With the Steelers’ decision not to pick up the option, Jones becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2016 season.

Jones, the 17th-overall pick in the 2013 draft, had 29 tackles, two sacks and an interception in 2015. In 36 career games, he has 87 tackles and five sacks.

Jones was one of 12 2013 first-round picks whose options were declined. Seven of those players, including second-overall pick Luke Joeckel of Jacksonville, were picked ahead of Jones.