Getty Damon Harrison following a Lions game.
The Detroit Lions made the move to release Damon Harrison, and while the decision was met with positivity on the side of the defensive tackle initially, nobody had a good idea exactly what he felt regarding the move.
Harrison seemed to imply he was happy with being able to move on in the moment with some subsequent tweets, even as he revealed a classy statement upon his release. Many fans wondered why Harrison didn’t single out Matt Patricia or the front office as part of that initial statement. That led many to assume animosity between the sides as part of the release process.
That’s simply not so according to Harrison himself. The defensive tackle answered a question from a fan on Twitter about that, and said that he considers Patricia a friend and has nothing but love for the whole front office of the team. He also singled out Bo Davis, the defensive line coach for the team and admitted it was a mistake not to clarify how he felt.
@W00dsyOwl Honestly I thought I had wrote it in there. It was such an emotional message and I got caught up in writing it. Nothing but respect for those guys. Coach P and I will be friends long after football is done for the both of us. Coach Bo is my man 100 grand. Honest mistake.
Harrison has been classy during his time in Detroit, so it was obviously an honest mistake as he admitted to. Nice to see him step up and clarify what happened before folks started running with any type of narrative on the internet.
Damon Harrison’s Release Explanation Revealed
When looking at the tape, the Lions saw something within the tape during their evaluation that they did not like. As a result, it became easy for them to make the decision to move on from Harrison when all is said and done. Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn spoke at the NFL Combine, with Patricia commenting that he respects Harrison and based on conversations, it was a joint decision to move on.
Matt Patricia said he has “a tremendous amount of respect” for Snacks Harrison, who the team officially released today. Said the conversation with both parties signaled “time for a departure.”
Said the Lions are now going a different way.
As it relates to Quinn, the general manager said that he evaluated everything and made the decision to move on after a 2019 production dive. Simple as that.
Bob Quinn said with Snacks Harrison played really well in 2018, level wasn’t as high in 2019 and looked at the position as a whole and decided to move on.
Harrison joined the Lions at the trade deadline a few years ago, and it was a bit stunning to see things end as abruptly as it did. That’s just what happened in this case, but the good news is apparently there are no hard feelings on Harrison’s side in terms of the front office.
Damon Harrison Shared Classy Statement After Release
Classy to the end, Harrison shared a statement with Lions fans that showed just how much the last few years meant to him. Even though Harrison didn’t get to spend long in the Motor City, it was clear that his experience there managed to be a very positive one.
In the statement, Harrison explained why his experience was so special and he thanked fans for their support, saying he would miss their interactions with him.
From Damon:
Harrison, classy to the end, provided one last look of this to Lions fans upon his exit. It was certainly nice to see that be the case, and nice to hear there are no bad feelings between the player and the staff at this point in time.
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