Five years ago, he said he felt exiled to NFL Europe and then summarily cut by the Baltimore Ravens to make room for his teammate and buddy, tight end Daniel Wilcox. Five years ago, he was signed by the Steelers merely because Clark Haggans broke a hand lifting weights days before training camp's opening and they needed another linebacker body.

Look at James Harrison now.

Yesterday, this former street free agent officially ascended into NFL stardom by finishing fourth, tied with Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, in voting for The Associated Press NFL MVP award, won by Indianapolis' Peyton Manning in a landslide.

Harrison is the first Steelers player to receive votes since quarterback Kordell Stewart also got four in finishing fourth in 2001.

As expected, the 52nd such award went to Manning for a third time. He received 32 votes, from the panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters covering the league, after a season in which he recovered from offseason knee surgery and led the Colts (12-4) to nine consecutive victories down the stretch, including a Nov. 9 triumph at Heinz Field.

It was after that 24-20 Colts victory when Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy announced that he would vote for Harrison if he had a MVP ballot. Harrison and Peterson finished with three votes, behind Miami quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta running back Michael Turner tied for second with four apiece.

Harrison had 16 sacks, 126 tackles and seven forced fumbles for the NFL's No. 1 defense.

"I'll be very surprised if [Manning] doesn't win based on how we've played, what we've had to do to get back in it and the performance he's had the last nine weeks," Dungy told reporters earlier this week. "After we left Pittsburgh [Nov. 9], I said I'd vote for Harrison, but if I was voting today, it would be Peyton."

In the nine-game winning streak, Manning completed 209 of 290 attempts for 2,248 yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions.

"I know it's an individual award, but ... truly, in my opinion, a team award," Manning said. "It's been the most rewarding regular season that I've been a part of in my 11 years, and I have to believe a lot of other players and even coaches might feel the same way."

The past nine MVP winners all failed to win the ultimate prize that season. New England's Tom Brady in 2007, Seattle's Shaun Alexander in 2005 (to the Steelers), Oakland's Rich Gannon in 2002 and St. Louis' Kurt Warner in 2001 all lost in the Super Bowl, with the others falling earlier in the playoffs.