Erik Harris

Erik Harris (born April 2, 1990) is an American football strong safety for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California University of Pennsylvania. He has also been a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the New Orleans Saints. Harris is known for playing many positions, including free and strong safety, halfback (which has an entirely different meaning than the American football halfback), cornerback, weakside linebacker and strong-side linebacker.

For other people with a similar name, see Eric Harris (disambiguation).

Erik Harris
Harris in the 2017 NFL season.
No. 25 – Las Vegas Raiders
Position:Strong safety
Personal information
Born: (1990-04-02) April 2, 1990
Los Angeles, California
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:New Oxford
(New Oxford, Pennsylvania)
College:California (PA)
Undrafted:2012
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:129
Pass deflections:15
Interceptions:5
Touchdowns:2
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life and college

Harris was born in Los Angeles, California. When Harris was two months old, his parents separated and he moved to Baltimore with his mother. Harris and his mother moved to Pennsylvania when he was in the fifth grade. He attended New Oxford High School in New Oxford, Pennsylvania.[1][2]

He attended California University of Pennsylvania, playing safety for the Division II California Vulcans football team.[3] In four college seasons, he made 231 tackles on defense. He was a First Team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (All-PSAC) selection in 2010. He was a Second Team All-PSAC selection in 2011.[4]

Professional career

Harris was rated the 90th best strong safety in the 2012 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[5] Harris was not drafted.[6]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m)		 226 lb
(103 kg)		 4.57 s 1.65 s 2.70 s 4.48 s 6.96 s 31 1⁄2 in
(0.80 m)		 9 ft 2 in
(2.79 m)		 23 reps
All values from California (PA) Pro Day[5]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Harris was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on April 11, 2013.[4] He played in 45 games for Hamilton, making 79 defensive tackles and 27 special teams tackles. He caught a touchdown on offense and recorded three interceptions.[7]

New Orleans Saints

Harris signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints on February 2, 2016.[8] Upon signing with the Saints, he was reunited with his former Tiger-Cats teammate Delvin Breaux.[9] Joel Erickson of The Advocate noted that Harris was a CFL linebacker but that he had the ability to play as an NFL defensive back. After former Saints safety Rafael Bush signed with the Detroit Lions, New Orleans announced that Harris would play safety.[10] He tore his ACL in a practice on October 10, 2016, then was placed on the injured reserve list October 13.[11] He was waived by the Saints on September 2, 2017.[12]

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Harris signed with the Oakland Raiders on September 5, 2017.[13] He played in 15 games his first season, playing primarily on special teams.

Harris entered the 2018 season as a backup free safety. He played in all 16 games with four starts, recording 49 combined tackles, seven passes defensed, and two interceptions.

On March 8, 2019, Harris signed a two-year contract extension with the Raiders.[14] In week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, Harris recorded a 30 yard pick six off Jacoby Brissett in the 31–24 win. [15] In week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, Harris recorded 2 interceptions off Philip Rivers, one of which was returned for a 56 yard touchdown, in the 26–24 win.[16]

Personal life

Harris is married to Theresa Harris, whom he met in New Oxford High School. He has 4 children: Ellis, Esme, and twin sons, Isaiah and Elijah, who were born in the summer of 2013.[2]

References
  1. "Erik Harris - 2011 Football". calvulcans.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  2. "A few minutes with Erik Harris". thespec.com. July 23, 2014. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  3. Miller, Zach (February 3, 2016). "Former New Oxford star signs with NFL's Saints". Hanover Evening Sun. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  4. "Ticats add five To defence". ticats.ca. April 11, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  5. "Erik Harris". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  6. "Ex DII walk on worked at potato chip factory before Raiders". msn.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  7. "Erik Harris CFL profile". CFL.ca. February 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  8. "Saints Sign CFL Linebacker Erik Harris". neworleans.suntimes.com. February 2, 2016. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  9. Triplett, Mike (February 3, 2016). "Saints sign Delvin Breaux's former CFL teammate, Erik Harris". espn.com. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  10. "Saints deploying Erik Harris at safety". theadvocate.com. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  11. Katzenstein, Josh (October 20, 2016). "Saints S Erik Harris recovering from 'disappointing' season-ending knee injury". NOLA.com.
  12. "New Orleans Saints make 37 roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017.
  13. "Raiders Sign Harris, Woodson-Luster". Raiders.com. September 5, 2017.
  14. Gantt, Darin (March 8, 2019). "Raiders extend safety Erik Harris". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  15. "Raiders use fast start, interception return to beat Colts". www.espn.com. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  16. "Raiders rally to beat Chargers 26-24". www.espn.com. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
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