Running back Damien Harris is retiring from the National Football League after five seasons. The former Alabama standout stated in his retirement address:
”Today, I am grateful I have found the strength to walk away from the game I love so much.”
In Week 6 of the 2023 season, Harris suffered a neck sprain when he collided with New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke. He was taken off the field via ambulance and was placed on injured reserve. Harris ended his lone season with the Buffalo Bills with 23 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Before signing a one-year, $1.7 million contract with the Bills, Harris played four seasons for the New England Patriots, the team that selected him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. His best year came in 2021, when he had 202 carries for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Harris finished his pro football career with 481 carries for 2,218 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. He also has 43 receptions for 304 yards.
Damien Harris was a two-time CFP national champion with the Crimson Tide and a 2018 Second Team All-SEC member before playing in the NFL.
As a tribute to his former head coaches, Harris included in his retirement message:
”Getting to represent the name on the back of my jersey on and of the field, getting to compete at the highest level with and against the best competitors while winning championships, and being coached by the 2 greatest head coaches of all time in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick are all just a small part of what God has done in my life with the game of football.”
-Lance Fernandez