LeGarrette Blount walked away from the Steelers on Monday night. The team told him to keep on walking -- and don't come back.29852200The New England Patriots signed Blount on Thursday, two days after Pittsburgh released the 27-year-old running back who inexplicably walked off the field and headed to the locker room during Monday night's game against the Titans."We believe the decision to release LeGarrette is in the best interest of the organization and wish him the best of luck," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a written statement after Blount's release.After signing with New England, Blount tweeted, "I would like to thank the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, Mr. Rooney, Kevin Colbert, Coach Tomlin and Coach Sax for the opportunity and experience they provided me. I would also like to apologize to them and my teammates and fans for how things ended. I made a poor decision that I will definitely grow from. I wish the Steelers, my former teammates and Steeler Nation nothing but the best."VOTE: Was releasing LeGarrette Blount the right move by the Steelers?Josh Harris, an undrafted rookie from Wake Forest, was signed off the practice squad to give the Steelers some depth at running back. Le'Veon Bell and third-round draft pick Dri Archer are the only other rushers on the roster.The Steelers hoped Blount would provide some goal-line muscle when he signed a two-year contract in March. He played in all 11 games this year, but was only on the field for one play during Pittsburgh's 27-24 comeback victory Monday night as Bell turned in a dominating second-half performance.In August, Blount was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. He was a passenger in Bell's SUV when police stopped the vehicle on suspicion of DUI in Ross Township. After their arrests, Tomlin said the Steelers addressed the matter internally but did not say what discipline was taken against Blount or Bell."It's exciting to have him back, a familiar face," New England special teams captain Matthew Slater said about Blount, who played for the Patriots in 2013. "LeGarrette was a great teammate here last year. We really enjoyed him and he did a lot of positive things for us on the football field."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------South Fayette High School football players offered some sportsmanship advice to other NFL players after hearing about Blount's release.The Lions are the defending Double-A champions in the WPIAL and are preparing for the championship game against Aliquippa on Friday."They've worked all their life trying to get to the NFL, and just walk off the field. Just disappointing seeing that," Logan Sharp said. "We never expect that from anyone at any level -- high school, college, NFL. I'm just shocked about it.""He sent the message that he is more important than the team," Coach Joe Rossi said. "What we're trying to teach in high school football is, if you focus on yourself, you're not going to go very far in life."Some of the South Fayette players understood Blount's disappointment Monday night but questioned his actions."I understand how that is as a player, and I understand how a coach would react to that too," Roman Denson said."We have seniors now who don't get the playing time that I know they wish they'd have down at Heinz Field. We have players like myself who are hurt. It'd be like injured players or those who don't get the playing time deciding not to show up on Friday at all," Anthony Davidson said."If somebody walked off the field during one of our games, they wouldn't be showing up to practice Monday," Zack Radinick said. "Here, we all stick together. If somebody doesn't play, we pick each other up and we're always supportive of one another.""It's about congratulating Ben (Roethlisberger) when he makes a good throw, or defense when they make a big stop," Ryan Schmider said. "I think it really shows how you have to be there for the rest of your team. It's not all about you. It's about the 11 guys on the other side of the ball and the 10 who are behind you."