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The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reports that the Atlanta Falcons will sign Erik Harris, a safety who some Saints fans might remember. Harris made the jump from the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats (where he became a friend and teammate of former Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux) to the NFL, initially competing for snaps in New Orleans. He became a starter with the Las Vegas Raiders, and now he’s back in the NFC South — this time suiting up with the dirty birds.
And that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Falcons have many holes on their defense, including safety, where Harris has shown he can help out and at least compete for the starting job. He’ll be joining former Saints personnel executive Terry Fontenot in Atlanta, too; Fontenot worked as director of pro scouting in the past and was a big part in bringing Harris to the NFL in the first place.
So while this doesn’t guarantee Harris will feature in any games with the Saints, there’s a good chance he gets on the field while Fontenot continues to rebuild the Falcons from the ground up. He’s working with few resources in either draft picks or salary cap room, so Harris could very well end up playing a key role in Atlanta. With two games scheduled against the Saints, it’s possible he gets in position to make a play against his old team.