Getty Former Patriots running back Damien Harris at Gillette Stadium on September 25, 2022.
One of the biggest goals for the Buffalo Bills this offseason was to relieve some of the pressure off quarterback Josh Allen, and one of the team’s first moves in free agency was to beef up their backfield.
Immediately after Bills’ leading rusher, Devin Singletary, left to sign with the Houston Texans, Buffalo added former New England Patriots running back Damien Harris. The former third-round pick from the 2019 NFL draft spent the first four seasons of his career in New England, and in a recent interview with The Buffalo News, Harris got brutally honest about his tenure with the Patriots.
The two-time college national champion out of Alabama said things “weren’t easy from the beginning,” as he spent his rookie season on the bench. “My first year, I didn’t play,” Harris said. In 2019, he appeared in just two games and tallied four rushes for 12 yards.
“My second year, I started out banged up, ended up banged up,” he said. During the 2020 NFL season, Harris missed a slew of games due to a broken finger and then an ankle injury. However, he started all 10 games he appeared in, recording 137 rushes for 691 yards and two touchdowns, along with five receptions for 52 yards.
In 2021, Harris put up career-high numbers with 202 rushes for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns, along with 18 receptions for 132 yards in 15 games. However, the running back was again hampered with injuries last season and appeared in just 11 games. He recorded 106 rushes for 462 yards and three touchdowns, along with 17 receptions for 97 yards.
If Damien Harris Can Stay Healthy, He Could Rival James Cook for Most Carries
While James Cook is largely expected to emerge as the Bills’ top running back for the 2023 NFL season, due to Harris’ larger stature, he’s 5-foot-11 and 203 pounds, WROC-TV‘s Thad Brown suggests the former Patriots player could lead Buffalo in carries.
However, SI‘s Gilberto Manzano sees Cook, the Bills’ second-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, who recorded rushed for 507 yards last season while averaging 5.7 yards per carry, “forming a dynamic backfield tandem” with Harris.
While Nyheim Hines will also compete for touches, The Athletic‘s Joe Buscaglia believes the door is wide open for Cook to be the clear RB1, and if he can deliver, Harris would be more in competition with veteran Latavius Murray, whom the Bills signed in May to a one-year deal.
“When the Bills signed Harris, the initial response is that he would be the complementary player to Cook for the 2023 season,” Buscaglia wrote. “But even with Harris on the roster… the Bills signed Murray just two days after the draft ended. Harris ($1.4 million) and Murray ($802,500) have a decent amount of guaranteed money, which could signal a competition between the similarly skilled backs.”
“The battle to be Cook’s short-yardage complementary back will likely come down to their performance and who can remain healthy. That’s been a tall task for Harris as he’s missed 13 games over the last three years, so the competition between these two players could be wide open this summer.”
Damien Harris Is Already Making a Good Impression in Buffalo
Despite his injury history, Bills head coach Sean McDermott was excited to sign Harris from the jump. “I just love the combination of size, some power, and speed,” McDermott said, per CBS Sports.
“Now, listen, he’s got to stay healthy, because it’s great to have all of that, but if you’re not healthy, you’re not helping us. So we’re going to have to do our part to help him with that and help manage those areas, and he’s going to have to do his part in that as well. But I think that was a good pickup for us.”
After seeing Harris participate in OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Bills running backs coach Kelly Skipper told The Buffalo News, “He’s powerful. You can feel his power when he’s running the football. He’s very intentional on how he hits the hole.”
“I like his professionalism,” Skipper added. “I think he just like he fits here.”