Former Detroit Lions player Charles Harris has a new home. The veteran pass rusher signed with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, September 11, the team announced.
Harris, 29, who has 16.5 career sacks, had been with the Lions for three seasons.
SideLion Report’s Brad Berreman wrote that the signing “is not a total shock” given that Harris “has a tie to Carolina’s defensive line coach, as Todd Wash had the same job with the Lions in 2021 and 2022.
“Lingering available for as long as he did (understandably so), with no known interest until now, it seemed like Harris’ NFL career could be over,” Berreman wrote. “His production on a prove-it deal with the Lions in 2021 extended his career when it was on the ropes, so maybe he can squeeze more time out of a shot with the worst team in the league this year. Neither side has anything to lose, that’s for sure.”
Harris was a former first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2017.
The Panthers Working With ‘Younger Options’ at Linebacker
“Harris is not going to be an overnight solution to the 47 points the Panthers gave up last week,” SB Nation’s Walker Clement wrote, noting that Harris will provide “a veteran presence” in the wake of the Panthers losing Derrick Brown — possibly for the rest of the season — in their Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
In the Panthers’ announcement, they added that they’re “working with a number of younger options at the position opposite Jadeveon Clowney, with DJ Johnson and Eku Leota splitting time last week.”
In addition, the team announced it had signed tight end Feleipe Franks back to the practice squad, following his being waived by the team on Monday, September 9.
Harris’ best season was in 2021, when he started 14 games for the Lions and amassed 7.5 sacks, 36 hurries, 16 QB hits and 2 forced fumbles. He started a total of seven games across the past two seasons.
Carolina Panthers Ranked Among the Bottom of NFL Teams in 2024 by USA Today, CBS Sports
The Panthers will need all the help they can get from Harris this season. The team is currently ranked among the bottom of the 2024 NFL Power Rankings by NFL experts at USA Today, CBS Sports and Yahoo! Sports.
USA Today has the Panthers ranked No. 31, with writer Nate Davis writing, “Adding injury to insult, Pro Bowl DE Derrick Brown – arguably Carolina’s most valuable player – might now miss the entire season with a knee injury.”
CBS Sports has the team ranked No. 32, with Pete Prisco asserting, “Just when we thought it couldn’t be worse than last season, it was against the Saints. This team isn’t good and Bryce Young is an issue.”
Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports also has the Panthers at No. 32, stating, “Nothing about the Panthers looked good in Week 1. But the real concern is Bryce Young.” He added that “the problem with Young last season was there were so few ‘wow’ moments from the first overall draft pick. But it was OK to give him a fresh start in his second season with a better cast. And the first game of his second season looked even worse. That should be really, really scary going forward for the Panthers.”
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Former Lions Veteran Signs With 1 of the NFL’s Lowest-Ranked Teams