Charles

Harris

He’ll be help for the Eagles as they try to maintain pass-rushing depth with Brandon Graham done for the year. Harris had three sacks in 421 snaps with the Panthers this year and hasn’t had more than that since 2021’s eight. He’ll be part of the rotation on passing downs for the Eagles going forward.

The Panthers just lost defensive tackle Derrick Brown to season-ending knee surgery. Harris is an EDGE and won’t directly take Brown’s place in the lineup, but Carolina needs pass-rush reinforcements in every shape and form. Harris was a part-time player for the Lions over the past two seasons, totaling just 2.5 sacks and four TFLs over that span. He broke out during his first season in Detroit in 2021 with 7.5 sacks and 10 TFLs.

Also inactive for the Lions are DE Charles Harris, OG Jonah Jackson, CB Jerry Jacobs, WR Marvin Jones, DL Brodric Martin, and DL Levi Onwuzurike. Among Lions skill players, Montgomery has been expected to miss time with a rib injury, while Jones was ruled out for personal reasons. Craig Reynolds and Jahmyr Gibbs are active and will carry the load in the Lions backfield. On the defensive side of the ball, Harris appears to have been benched after a slow start to the season, while NFL interceptions leader Jerry Jacobs has been ruled out with a knee issue.

Detroit signed the former first-round pick to a one-year deal last offseason. He gave them a career-high, 7.5 sacks while also notching 10 TFLs. Harris appeared in all 17 games for the Lions, 14 of which were starts. It was the first time he started more than five games in a season. Harris broke out as a solid pass-rusher last year and the Lions brought him back on a relatively inexpensive deal. This does down as a win for both sides.

Harris, the No. 22 overall pick from the 2017 draft, had a career-high three sacks last year for Atlanta in 13 games. Those three sacks were more than he had in total during three years in Miami. Harris could see significant snaps in Detroit this season.

The organization will now have 72 hours to decide whether to exercise his fifth-year option for 2021. It’s nothing more than a shot in the dark for the Falcons, who are acquiring Miami’s former No. 22 overall pick from the 2017 draft (due $1.9 million this year) for pennies on the dollar. Harris hasn’t lived up to his first-round profile in that span, totaling a dwindling sack count (3.5) across eight starts the past three years, but he does land in a non-competitive situation in Atlanta’s front-seven. The Falcons need all the help they can get on defense, which at least gives Harris a shot to make noise behind Dante Fowler, Takk McKinley, and John Cominsky as a rotational EDGE rusher.

Harris was limited at OTAs with his wrist issue. It’s not a lock that he’ll be ready for the start of camp. Harris missed five games last year to injuries and needs to stay healthy in a make-or-break 2019.

“He’s the kind of guy we want in the building,” said the first-year head coach. “He’s smart. He’s hard-working. He’s got a lot of ability.” Harris has fallen short of expectations since his arrival as a first-round pick in 2017 (three sacks in 27 games) but perhaps Flores can bring out his potential. The former Missouri Tiger will likely take on a bigger pass-rushing load following the offseason departures of Robert Quinn and Cameron Wake.

Harris has been sidelined since suffering a calf injury in practice ahead of Week 6, and the early rule out is not a great sign for his availability moving forward. In better news, Miami did get Cameron Wake back last week.

Harris suffered the injury during last Friday’s practice and missed the win over the Bears. The Dolphins are also without Cameron Wake, who reportedly underwent a knee scope.