Tag: damien harris

Former Bills RB Damien Harris retires from NFL at 27

Former #Bills RB Damien Harris retires from NFL at 27:

Damien Harris was a free agent of the Buffalo Bills having played for the team in 2023.

He has officially left the Bills… but football in general as well.

Harris, 27, has died to retire from the NFL.

Harris made the announce via social media post on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C49NCdzR2yx/?img_index=1

Harris played the first four seasons of his career with the New England Patriots prior to signing with the Bills last offseason. He was drafted out of Alabama in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft.

In his lone season in Buffalo, Harris had 23 carries for 94 yards and a rushing touchdown. However, Harris suffered a sprained neck during the Bills’ Week 6 win over the New York Giants.

Harris left the field in an ambulance and that went down as his final play in his NFL career.

[lawrence-related id=133249,133234,133231]

Former Bills and Patriots RB Damein Harris announces retirement from the NFL

Former Alabama RB Damien Harris issues statement announcing NFL retirement

It’s both a happy and sad day as former Alabama running back [autotag]Damien Harris[/autotag] has announced his retirement from the NFL after five seasons. Harris was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft (No. 87 overall) to the New England Patriots where he spent the first four years of his career before signing a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills ahead of the 2023 season.

Granted they call it the Not For Long League, but five years is a good run for a back in the NFL. Harris started 34 of 44 career games and posted 2,188 career yards, 21 touchdowns and a career 4.6 yards per carry. He only appeared in one Playoff game with the Patriots back in 2021 where he had just nine carries for 30 yards.

During his time with Alabama though, he was a really special player and leader as he helped bring two national titles back to Tuscaloosa. Harris was never the only true feature back as he had to split time with Bo Scarbrough and Josh Jacobs over the years, but was always incredibly reliable when No. 34 was called. I would not be shocked to see Harris working for ESPN or something of that nature in the near future as he is a very strong and fun personality.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Former Patriots RB Damien Harris announces retirement from NFL

Damien Harris announced he’s retiring from the NFL

After five NFL seasons, Damien Harris is officially retiring from football.

The former New England Patriots running back announced the news on Instagram on Monday night.

Harris wrote:

For the past 20 years, playing the game of football has been one of the greatest privileges in my life. Getting to represent the name on the back of my jersey on and off the field, getting to compete at the highest level with and against the best competitors while winning championships, and being coached by the two greatest head coaches of all time in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick are all just a small part of what God has done in my life with the game of football.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C49NCdzR2yx/?img_index=1

Harris won two national titles with the Alabama Crimson Tide and was named to the Second-Team All-SEC in 2018. He was taken with the 87th pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Patriots.

After spending his first four seasons in New England, Harris joined the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills in 2023. He played in only six games before a nasty neck injury cut his season short.

At only 27 years old, Harris’ decision to walk away is likely him prioritizing his own health over the game of football. What a career it’s been for a player that competed under Saban and Belichick, along with being present for Tom Brady’s final year in New England.

Harris finished his NFL career with 472 rushes for 2,188 yards and 21 touchdowns. Yet, stats pale in comparison to the impact he left on former teammates, coaches and fans

It wasn’t a long NFL career, but it was a substantial one.

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent running backs

Top 12 running backs of the 2024 offseason

Given what they gave Miles Sanders last year, the Carolina Panthers probably won’t be sifting through the open market for a big-name running back this spring.

But just in case you were curious, here are the top 12 free-agent rushers for the offseason:

5 Bills free agents who could follow Ken Dorsey to Browns

Could any of Dorsey’s former players in Buffalo join him in Cleveland?

Could Damien Harris or Gabe Davis follow their old offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey to the Cleveland Browns in free agency?

The Browns have massive needs at both wide receiver and running back. Outside of Amari Cooper and glimpses from Elijah Moore, Cleveland needs to overhaul the backend of that room. The running back room is no different as none of Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt, nor Pierre Strong stepped up to the challenge after the season-ending injury to Nick Chubb.

While the 2024 NFL draft is always a massive possibility to improve both rooms, free agency is another (more expensive) pathway toward improving the roster. Could the Browns and new offensive coordinator Dorsey look to pull any of his former players away from Buffalo when the new league year starts?

Here are five Buffalo offensive players who will be free agents at positions of need the Browns could look to reunite with Dorsey in free agency.

Full list of Bills players who will be free agents this offseason

Who will stay and who will go?

As another season of Buffalo Bills football has come to an end, so have another series of contracts that have been signed.

Whether it be grizzled veterans or players seeing the end of their rookie contracts, there are plenty of faces who will not long be under contract in Buffalo in March when free agency opens.

The Bills have plenty of time until then to sign players to extensions, but it’s never so cut-and-dry. According to Over The Cap, Buffalo is estimated to be $49 million over the 2024 NFL salary cap.

Moves must be made and general manager Brandon Beane will earn his own salary with the decisions ahead.

But what you’re here for: The full list of Bills free agents following the 2023 season is below:

Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots: Team connections

#Bills vs. #Patriots: Team connections:

The Buffalo Bills will host the New England Patriots for a matchup on Sunday afternoon in Week 17.

It’s a brand new NFL weekend with plenty on the line for both teams. But for some on the Bills (9-6) and Patriots (4-11) there is a bit more at stake than others.

That’s because multiple players or coaches for both sides are going to be playing against their former teams. That can create a little bit of extra motivation for them heading into Sunday… as expected.

With that, here’s a quick list of connections the two teams have with one another ahead of the upcoming matchup at Highmark Stadium:

Buffalo Bills place former Alabama RB Damien Harris on injured reserve

The Buffalo Bills placed former Alabama running back Damien Harris on injured reserve on Friday.

On Friday, the Buffalo Bills placed former Alabama running back Damien Harris on injured reserve. Harris suffered a neck injury in Week 6 against the New York Giants.

Harris will have to miss at least the next four games before he is eligible to be activated to the roster from the injured reserve.

Through six games, Harris played primarily as a power back for the Bills. Harris had 23 carries for 94 yards and one touchdown. During the offseason, he signed with the Bills on a one-year deal worth $1.7 million.

Harris previously played for the New England Patriots. He spent the first four seasons of his NFL career in the Patriots organization.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow former Alabama players in the NFL.

Bills sign RB Ty Johnson, place RB Damien Harris on injured reserve

Buffalo Bills sign RB Ty Johnson to 53-man roster, place RB Damien Harris on injured reserve.

The Bills have made some roster moves on Friday which were expected.

The team announced that running back Damien Harris was placed on injured reserve. Harris sustained a head/neck injury against the Giants last weekend during a 14-9 win.

Taking his place on the roster is Ty Johnson. The Bills (4-2) have signed Johnson ahead of facing the Patriots (1-5) on Sunday.

The transactions were expected because of another move that nearly happened but did not.

Reports earlier this week indicated that the Bills were going to bring Leonard Fournette in for a free-agent visit. The same update said that he was going to sign with the team in some capacity, likely their 53-man roster.

The Bills intended to do that because they were expecting Johnson to leave the practice squad and sign with another team. Any NFL team can sign players off another club’s practice squad each week, however, their original team has an option to sign that player to the active roster in order to keep them. That’s what the Bills did with Johnson after the Harris injury.

Fournette remains a free agent and it’s unclear if the Bills could have interest in him in the future. For now, Johnson fills out the team’s depth at running back.

On Harris, it’s unclear how long he will remain on the injured reserve list. Throughout this past week, he did not practice at all after being taken off the field last week with an ambulance. He was released from the hospital by Monday but is evidently still dealing with the injury.

[lawrence-related id=124831,124827,124823]

Bills’ Ed Oliver out vs. Patriots

3 players ruled out for the #Bills:

The Buffalo Bills will be without Ed Oliver against the New England Patriots in Week 7.

According to head coach Sean McDermott during an appearance on the team’s radio partner WGR-550, Oliver will not suit up. Oliver has been listed on the injury report this week with a toe injury which he sustained against the New York Giants last week.

In that 14-9 win over the Giants, Oliver played a career-high total number of snaps: 87 percent. It was the second-straight game Oliver set a new career-high.

Speaking of career-highs, Oliver is on pace to set his single-season high for sacks. His rookie year he had five and through six games, Oliver already has recorded four.

Without Oliver, Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle could see extended snaps against the Patriots (1-5).

In addition to Oliver, the Bills (4-2) have ruled out tight end Quintin Morris (ankle) and running back Damien Harris (concussion).

Both sustained their injuries against the Giants as well. Harris was taken off the field in an ambulance but was released from the hospital on Monday.

Later on Friday Buffalo and New England will both release their full injury reports and designations for players ahead of Sunday’s game. Bills Wire will bring that information once it’s made available.

[lawrence-related id=124817,124793,124789]