Javon Hargrave Flexed On Steelers Mike Tomlin After Massive Sack Of Ben Roethlisberger "I Should've Got A Flag"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been well-known for building incredible defenses since the 1970s. One player who helped to contribute to that strong defense was Javon Hargrave. Now Hargrave has moved on and plays for the San Francisco 49ers, but he returned to share some stories about his time with the Steelers and coming back to play them after he left. 

Hargrave was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He stayed in Pittsburgh for four seasons and was a critical component of the Steelers defense. During those four years, he played in 63 games and had 14.5 sacks, a combined 106 tackles, 11 quarterback hits, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown.  

The star nose tackle left the Steelers and went to play for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. He stayed with them for three seasons, signing a new contract with the 49ers for 2023. During his time with the Eagles, he was a key component in their defense just as he had been in Pittsburgh, having his best season ever in 2021. He helped the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl in 2022 where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.  

While with the Eagles, he got to play his former team a few times. During his first season with the Eagles in 2020, Philadelphia traveled to then-Heinz Field. Hargrave got to go up against his former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers won 38-29, but Hargrave was able to get a half-sack on Roethlisberger that game. 

In 2021, the Steelers and Eagles met in Philadelphia for a preseason game which Pittsburgh won 24-16. In 2022, the Eagles massacred the Steelers 13-35 again in Philadelphia with Hargrave having two sacks on Kenny Pickett. While there were no hard feelings between the Steelers and Hargrave, that doesn't take away the desire to show off for your former team. 

Former Steelers DL Javon Hargrave On Sacking Ben Roethlisberger And Flexing On His Former Coach

Hargrave recently appeared on his former teammate and friend, Cam Heyward's podcast, Not Just Football With Cam Heyward. He was asked what it's like to return and play against your old team. Hargrave said the preseason doesn't count and they are 1-1 against each other, so the Week 1 game will be a kind of tiebreaker. 

Heyward brings up how bad the 2022 game was. He said it felt like Hargrave had more sacks than the two he did. Heyward said he was so frustrated, that he couldn't believe the way Pickett was getting sacked. Hargrave joked that he kept looking at the Steelers' sideline trying to get either Heyward or Head Coach Mike Tomlin's attention. Heyward said there was zero chance he was looking over at him.  

"I couldn't believe y'all threw the ball before the half. I'm like, 'Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!' I needed that," laughs Hargrave.

This means that Hargrave is one of only a few defensive players that have gotten a sack on both Roethlisberger and Pickett. Heyward asked Hargrave about his desire to sack Roethlisberger and whether he was "licking his chops" after all of these years of going against him in practice. Hargrave said that getting to sack Roethlisberger was so much fun considering it isn't something that is encouraged when you are on the team. He recalled a time he got a talking-to from Coach Tomlin for making a sack at camp.

"I remember when I first got to Pittsburgh and it was the rookie minicamp and I had hit the quarterback and Coach T come and put on an example, talking about, 'If this was Ben...' He put you on a team board, he said, 'If this was Ben, they would have called you a bus because you would have been going back home.'"

Heyward jokes that defenders are just made differently. It is nothing against their former teammate and has nothing to do with disrespect, just a desire to make the big plays and show your old team what they are missing. Hargrave agreed and said that coming back to play in Pittsburgh as a former member of the team was an incredible rush.

"Coming back to Pittsburgh and sacking Ben, that was dope, that was good. Ben was just happy I ain't really hit him, hit him.'"

In his imagination, since Heyward has only played for the Steelers, he said he thinks that all the defenders at practice are pondering how if they were on a different team, they would love to sack Ben. Hargrave agreed that it's all they think about, that they just want to beat up on their former team. Heyward said they are just "crazy like that" and told Hargrave that he got to live out the dream every defender has.  

"I went over there and then I flexed, I like flexed my muscles (mimics flexing his arms) on Coach T. I should've got a flag. Danny Smith was sitting there talking so much junk to me."

Danny Smith, the Steelers' special teams coordinator, as Heyward points out, is well known for two things (other than his play-calling): chewing gum and talking trash. Smith has been with the Steelers since 2013 and is well-loved by current and former players. 

"Yeah that was one of my best sacks, but it was only a half sack, Fletch [Cox] kind of stole and jumped in on it too."

The "Fletch" he is referring to is his former Eagles teammate, defensive tackle, Fletcher Cox. Cox is the player who was credited with that other half-sack.   

What did you think of Hargrave when he was with the Steelers? Do you think Pittsburgh made a mistake letting him go? What are your predictions for the Week 1 game against the 49ers? Click to comment below. 

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