Damien Harris

Damien Harris (born February 11, 1997) is an American football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

For the British film director and screenwriter, see Damian Harris. For the record producer, see Midfield General.

Damien Harris
No. 22 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1997-02-11) February 11, 1997
Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:213 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:Madison Southern
(Berea, Kentucky)
College:Alabama (2015–2018)
NFL Draft:2019 / Round: 3 / Pick: 87
Career history
Roster status:Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2023
Rushing yards:2,187
Rushing average:4.6
Rushing touchdowns:21
Receptions:42
Receiving yards:297
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Harris attended Madison Southern High School in Berea, Kentucky. During his high school football career, he rushed for 6,748 yards with 122 touchdowns.[1] He was rated by the Rivals.com recruiting network as a five-star recruit. Harris was ranked as the top running back and the eighth best overall player in his class. Harris committed to the University of Alabama to play college football under head coach Nick Saban.[2][3]

College career

Harris was a backup to Derrick Henry as a true freshman at Alabama in 2015. He played in 12 games and rushed for 157 yards on 46 carries. With Henry leaving for the NFL, Harris became Alabama's starting running back in 2016, beating out Bo Scarbrough.[4] In his first career start against USC in the season opener, he rushed for 138 yards on nine carries.[5] In the third game, against Ole Miss, Harris carried 16 times for 144 yards, including a 67-yard run in which he out-muscled two defenders.[6] A sprained knee against Kent State on September 24 caused him to sit out the rest of the game,[7] but he returned the following week against Kentucky. Against Arkansas on October 8, Harris had 122 yards rushing, 60 yards receiving, and a touchdown reception.[8] Harris had his fourth 100-yard game of the season against Texas A&M, rushing for 125 yards on 18 carries.[9] He graduated in December 2018.[10]

Statistics
Season Team GP Rushing Receiving
AttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTD
2015Alabama 10461573.44114133.380
2016Alabama 151451,0407.273214997.1562
2017Alabama 141351,0007.4751112917.6170
2018Alabama 151508765.8739222049.3520
Career544773,0706.47523524077.8562

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard splitVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 10+1⁄8 in
(1.78 m)		 216 lb
(98 kg)		 30+3⁄4 in
(0.78 m)		 9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		4.57 s1.56 s2.71 s37 in
(0.94 m)		10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		16 reps
All values from NFL Combine[11]

2019 season

Harris was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round with the 87th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.[12] He made his professional debut in the team's Week 7 33–0 victory over the New York Jets, rushing for 12 yards on four carries.[13] It would be his only carries for the season as he was a healthy scratch for most of his rookie season.

2020 season

On September 7, 2020, Harris was placed on injured reserve with a broken finger.[14] He was activated on October 5, 2020.[15] In Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had 17 carries for 100 rushing yards in the 26–10 loss.[16] In Week 8, against the Buffalo Bills, he had 16 carries for 102 rushing yards and his first career rushing touchdown in the 24–21 loss.[17] In Week 10, Harris rushed the ball 22 times for 121 yards, both career highs, helping lead the Patriots to a 23–17 upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.[18] He was placed back on injured reserve on January 2, 2021.[19] He finished the season as the Patriot's leading rusher with 691 yards and two touchdowns through 10 games.

2021 season

Harris was the team's primary starter for the 2021 season. He started the first nine games of the season, though a concussion sustained in Week 9 kept him out of the Week 10 game against the Cleveland Browns.[20] He returned as the starter for Week 11. He had 100+ yard performances in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, and Week 7 against the New York Jets. He was mostly ineffectual, however, during the Week 3 and 4 losses against the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers respectively, being held to only 10 total yards rushing combined between the two games. Starting in Week 8, he began to split carries with backup Rhamondre Stevenson.[21] He finished the season with a career-high 929 rushing yards and was second in the league with 15 rushing touchdowns.

2022 season

Harris entered the 2022 season as the Patriots starting running back, with Rhamondre Stevenson close behind him. A hamstring injury suffered in Week 5 slowed down his production and allowed Stevenson to overtake him as the lead back, but still split carries with the second-year player. He suffered a thigh injury in Week 12 and missed the next four games. He finished the season with 462 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Buffalo Bills

On March 21, 2023, Harris signed a one-year, $1.7 million contract with the Buffalo Bills.[22] Harris scored his first touchdown as a Bill during a 38–10 Buffalo win against the Las Vegas Raiders in week 2.[23] During week 6 against the New York Giants, Harris was injured after he collided with Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke on what would be his only carry of the game. He was taken off the field via ambulance and was later diagnosed with a neck sprain.[24] He was placed on injured reserve on October 20.[25]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2019NE 204123.0130000.00000
2020NE 10101376915.041255210.415010
2021NE 15152029294.66415181327.321022
2022NE 1191064624.430317975.715000
Career38344492,0944.76420402817.021032

References
  1. Fields, Mike (January 9, 2015). "Madison Southern football standout Damien Harris says Alabama 'the best fit for me'". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  2. VanHaaren, Tom (January 9, 2015). "Damien Harris commits to Bama". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. Champlin, Drew (January 9, 2015). "5-star running back Damien Harris commits to Alabama". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  4. Torres, Aaron (October 21, 2016). "The 20 best NFL Draft prospects in the Alabama-Texas A&M game". Fox Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  5. Rankin, Duane (September 4, 2016). "Harris makes early statement". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  6. Tsuji, Alysha (September 17, 2016). "Alabama RB Damien Harris blasts off for strong 67-yard run". USA Today. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  7. "No. 1 Alabama rolls Kent State 48–0, loses Harris to injury". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  8. Johnson, Chris (October 9, 2016). "Jalen Hurts, Damien Harris shine as No. 1 Alabama runs all over No. 16 Arkansas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  9. Couch, Teddy (October 22, 2016). "No. 1 Alabama drops No. 6 Texas A&M 33–14". The Gadsden Times. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  10. Potter, Charlie (December 18, 2018). "Damien Harris calls graduating 'my greatest accomplishment'". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  11. "Damien Harris Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". nfl.com. March 1, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  12. Buchmasser, Bernd (April 26, 2019). "NFL draft 2019: Patriots draft RB Damien Harris with the 87th pick". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  13. "Ben Watson Making 2019 Debut; Damien Harris Active For Patriots". CBS Boston. October 21, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  14. "Patriots sign two players to the 53-man roster from the practice squad; place two players on injured reserve". Patriots.com. September 7, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  15. Alper, Josh (October 5, 2020). "Patriots activate Damien Harris, put Sony Michel on IR". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  16. "New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs – October 5th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  17. "New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills – November 1st, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  18. Reiss, Mike (November 15, 2020). "Damien Harris leads Patriots in best win of year vs. Ravens". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  19. "Patriots Make A Series of Roster Moves". Patriots.com. January 2, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  20. Roche, Connor (November 13, 2021). "Damien Harris ruled out for Sunday's Patriots-Browns game". Boston.com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  21. "Damien Harris". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  22. Glab, Maddy (March 21, 2023). "Bills sign RB Damien Harris to one-year deal". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  23. "Bills' Damien Harris happy for 'home' touchdown in Orchard Park". Bills Wire. September 19, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  24. "Bills' Damien Harris released from hospital after exiting Week 6 game via ambulance; RB's neck should be fine". CBSSports.com. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  25. Jenkins, Chris (October 20, 2023). "Bills promote RB Ty Johnson to the 53-man roster". BuffaloBills.com.
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