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They say that in the NFL you’re often “only one play away”. That’s usually in reference to a backup player getting his chance to step into a game due to injury or lackluster performance. In the case of a productivformer Patriots running back, he was sadly one play away from seeing his NFL career come to an abrupt end last season.
In an Instagram post published Monday evening, former New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills running back Damien Harris announced his retirement from the NFL. Harris, a graduate of the University of Alabama, and former teammate of former Pats QB Mac Jones, entered the NFL in 2019 as pick #87 in the third round by the New England Patriots. He played sparingly his rookie season behind then starter Sony Michel, but in 2020 Harris was given the chance to earn more reps and he made the most of the opportunity, rushing for five yards per carry and eventually becoming RB1 for the Pats in the COVID season.
A focal point of the offense in 2021, Harris rushed for almost a thousand yards and had 15 rushing TDs for the Pats. His most famous run with the team coming against, ironically, the team he would join later.
Injuries and the emergence of Rhamondre Stevenson at running back diminished Harris’s 2022 contributions, a year that saw offensive frustrations mount aplenty for the entirety of the Patriots offense. Harris departed via free agency for a one year $1.5 million deal with the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. Harris was sharing the backfield with second year back James Cook when he was injured during a Sunday Night Football game vs the Giants in Buffalo. The injury ended Harris’s season, and now ultimately his career.
Harris retires with 2,188 rushing yards and 21 TDs in the NFL, not to mention a very productive collegiate career that saw him win a National Championship for the 2017 with the Crimson Tide.
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