Many of you, if you identify as Philadelphia Eagles fans, have probably been pacing for the better part of about three days now. It’s been a weird ending to March’s third full week.
With the stress that this team was under to get under the salary cap, the puzzling acquisitions of Adrian Killins and Andrew Adams, and the knowledge that Philly is partially strapped because of Carson Wentz’s salary (even though he plays for the Indianapolis Colts now), you were probably wondering if this team would be able to make any moves in free agency.
Well, Friday, the Birds added another piece on defense, but hold on a second! It’s another safety? What is going on?
Here’s the skinny if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan.
On July 15th, it was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that the Minnesota Vikings and Anthony Harris were unable to reach an agreement prior to the NFL’s franchise tag deadline. Four days later, he’s signing with Philly on a one-year deal according to agent Drew Rosenhaus and ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Aside from the fact that the Birds have a ton of needs and have already signed a safety, the move makes a little sense. If you’ll remember, Harris worked closely with Philly’s new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as Gannon served as the Vikings assistant defensive backs coach from 2014 until 2017.
So far, for his career, Harris has 86 games with 49 starts on his NFL resume. That includes five playoff games. During that time, he’s racked up 304 total tackles, including 198 of the solo variety. Add that to 19 pass breakups, a forced fumble, ten interceptions, and a defensive touchdown.
Harris deal will pay him $5 million over the course of the 2021 NFL season. This is a decent signing though it’s still puzzling why Philly would make the move after, again, adding a safety less than four days beforehand.