Getty Damon Harrison at the Super Bowl on the radio.
The Detroit Lions released Damon Harrison a few weeks back, but the lineman hasn’t been shy about sharing some of his opinions about the team and the staff.
Just afterward, Harrison talked about his feelings regarding Matt Patricia, the team and what played out. As the weeks have gone on, Harrison has also stayed active on Twitter, and answered plenty of questions about the Lions and other issues.
One of the best questions that came in was from a Lions fan. Which player on the roster is going to be a force in the future? According to Harrison, little known defensive tackle John Atkins is a player to watch.
As Harrison tweeted, Atkins is going to be a problem for the team in the future, providing he can get out of his own way.
Atkins, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia, has 22 tackles in his NFL career which started in New England and then moved to Detroit. He’s seen spot duty at times for the Lions, but as Harrison aptly points out, is someone that could get a big chance to make a huge impression starting this offseason given the team’s need up front.
Damon Harrison’s Comments After Release
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 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.
If Atkins becomes the next big star up front in Detroit, folks can realize that Harrison called his shot with this prediction.
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