DeAngelo Williams: NFL Tried To Use 'Tom Brady Rule' On James Harrison, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was cleared on Wednesday on allegations of PED use. On Thursday, teammate DeAngelo Williams celebrated on Twitter.

Williams, a 33-year-old veteran of 10 NFL seasons, knows the league pretty well, and he's had his own fights with the league. So he knows that it's rare for a player to emerge from an NFL investigation unscathed, going so far as to create a new rule in honor of Tom Brady to explain the phenomenon.

"D-Bo [Harrison] beat his case. He had a lot of charges pending, man. The NFL was out here trying to get him," Williams said. "We're just so excited that he beat his case. He's a free man. Shoutout to Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews as well on beating their case, man.

"When the NFL investigator drop a case on you, man, they try to Tom Brady you. That's what we call it now when they try to double-back, the double jeopardy. Ain't no such thing as double jeopardy. They call that Tom Brady now. It's the Tom Brady rule."

Williams hasn't exactly taken up the Patriots' cause throughout the whole DeflateGate saga, but he's at least paid enough attention to know that if the NFL wants you to take the fall for something, you most certainly will.

In any event, Harrison and all of his other completely naturally built colleagues in the NFL will begin their season next week. Tom Brady, who might've known about ball boys marginally messing with some footballs, will be forced to miss four full weeks of football.

The Tom Brady Rule has certainly caught the attention of NFL players, who are now perpetually on the lookout for the next time the NFL decides to hunt a star player.

In:
• NFL
• Tom Brady
• Roger Goodell
• deflategate