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The Los Angeles Chargers are set to sign longtime Atlanta Falcons long snapper Josh Harris, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Harris, who became an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, March 16, heads to LA on a four-year, $5.6 million deal with $1.92 million guaranteed.
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Harris Is Fresh Off His First Pro Bowl
The Falcons had two players make the 2022 Pro Bowl roster: Kyle Pitts and Josh Harris.
Both were first-timers as Pitts became the first rookie tight end to land on the initial Pro Bowl roster since Jeremy Shockey in 2002, while Harris’ was long overdue.
Harris, 32, who has been with the Falcons for 10 seasons, has handled the long-snapping duties in all but five of 168 games.
Way before his NFL career, Harris played both linebacker and long snapper at Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Georgia. From there, he walked onto the Auburn football team in 2007 where he ended up starting as the Tigers’ long snapper from 2009 through 2011. He earned himself a scholarship in 2010, the same year the Tigers won the SEC title along with the BCS Championship, thanks to his snap for Wes Byrum’s game-winning field goal over Oregon.
In 2012, Harris signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent and started Week 1 after beating out veteran Joe Zelenka in the pre-season.
Falcons Lose Two More to Free Agency
Harris isn’t the only player the Falcons have “lost” to free agency thus far.
Falcons’ top linebacker, Foye Oluokon, agreed to a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, March 14.
Rapoport detailed that the deal is worth up to $46.5 million with $28 million guaranteed and added that the Falcons “worked hard” to retain the league’s 2022 leading tackler.
Atlanta drafted Oluokon in the sixth-round out of Yale in 2018. He finished last season with a career-high 192 tackles, six passes defensed, two sacks, a forced fumble and three interceptions. No to mention that his best season yet came after learning a new defense under Dean Pees.
Wide receiver Russell Gage was the other Falcons player who found a new home this week in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, per Rapoport again.
Gage became the Falcons’ leading receiver in 2021 after having to step up for the absence of Calvin Ridley.
The 26-year-old is fresh off of his two best seasons after catching 72 passes for 786 yards and four touchdowns with Atlanta in 2020, and 66 passes for 770 yards and four touchdowns just his past season.
In fact, his best performance to date came against the Buccaneers in Week 13 of 2021 where he caught 11 of 12 targets for 130 yards.
The Falcons have many roster holes to fill this offseason but the receiving room is the most concerning as they currently has just Frank Darby, Chad Hansen and Austin Trammell under contract for the 2022 season.
The team also tendered wide receiver Olamide Zacchaeus at the right-of-first-refusal number of $2.433 million, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This means that the Falcons can match any Zacchaeus gets from another team in order to keep in Atlanta. But expect the Falcons to sign some wideouts in free agency and in the upcoming draft.
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