This article is about the American football safety. For the tight end, see William Harris (American football).

William Jamahl Harris (born December 19, 1995) is an American professional football safety for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston College Eagles and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. Harris has also played for the New Orleans Saints.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m) 		207 lb
(94 kg) 		31+1⁄4 in
(0.79 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.41 s 1.54 s 2.59 s 4.12 s 6.91 s 36.5 in
(0.93 m)		 10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		 20 reps
All values from NFL Combine[1][2]

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions selected Harris in the third round (81st overall) in the 2019 NFL draft.[3] They traded their 2019 third (88th overall) and sixth round picks (204th overall) to the Minnesota Vikings in order to acquire the is 81st overall pick to draft Harris.[4] The Minnesota Vikings went on to trade both of the picks to the, Seattle Seahawks. He was the seventh safety drafted in 2019. He was reunited with Lions defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni, who coached the defensive line at Boston College during Harris' time there.

On June 4, 2019, the Detroit Lions signed Harris to a four–year, $3.72 million rookie contract that includes a signing bonus of $952,244.[5]

Throughout training camp, Harris competed against Tavon Wilson, Charles Washington, and Andrew Adams to be a primary backup safety under defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni.[6] Head coach Matt Patricia named Harris a backup safety, behind starting safeties Tracy Walker III and Quandre Diggs to begin the regular season.[7]

On September 8, 2019, Harris made his professional regular season debut during the Detroit Lions' season–opener at the Arizona Cardinals, but was limited to one solo tackle as they tied 27–27. In Week 6, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles (three solo) during a 22-23 loss at the Green Bay Packers. On November 3, 2019, Harris earned his first career start after Tracy Walker injured his knee. He recorded five combined tackles (two solo) during a 24–31 loss at the Oakland Raiders. In Week 17, he made four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and had his first career sack on Aaron Rodgers as the Lions lost 20–23 to the Green Bay Packers. He finished his rookie season in 2019 with a total of 43 combined tackles (30 solo), three pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and six starts.[8]

Harris was named the Lions starting free safety in 2021, recording 93 tackles, four passes defensed, and a forced fumble through 17 starts. He split his time between safety, nickel, and outside cornerback.

In 2022, Harris was named a backup cornerback behind Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye. He was later named the starting nickelback.[9]

On March 14, 2023, the Detroit Lions signed Harris to a fully-guaranteed one–year, $2.58 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $152,500.[10][5]

New Orleans Saints

On May 1, 2024, the New Orleans Saints signed Harris to a one–year, $1.29 million contract that includes $491,500 guaranteed upon signing and an initial signing bonus of $167,500.[11][5] He was named the Saints starting strong safety in 2024, starting 13 games while recording 74 tackles, five passes defensed, and one interception.

Washington Commanders

On March 13, 2025, the Washington Commanders signed Harris to a two–year, $8.00 million contract that includes $3.39 million guaranteed upon signing and a signing bonus of $2.00 million.[12][5]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sack Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
2019 DET 16 6 43 30 13 1.0 0 — — — — 3 0 0 — —
2020 DET 16 5 35 26 9 0.0 0 — — — — 1 0 0 — —
2021 DET 17 17 93 62 31 0.5 0 — — — — 4 1 0 — —
2022 DET 15 10 57 44 13 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 0 4 1 1 0 0
2023 DET 17 2 18 12 6 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0
2024 NO 13 13 74 54 20 0.0 1 7 7.0 7 0 5 0 0 — —
Career 94 53 320 228 92 1.5 3 7 2.3 7 0 19 2 2 3 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sack Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
2023 DET 3 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 — —
Career 3 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

References

  1. ^ "Will Harris Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Will Harris, Boston College NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "2019 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Monarrez, Carlos (April 26, 2019). "Detroit Lions take DB Will Harris in Round 3 of 2019 NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d "Spotrac.com: Will Harris contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Birkett, Dave (June 4, 2019). "Detroit Lions sign 2019 third-round pick Will Harris". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  7. ^ Schlitt, Eric (September 4, 2019). "Lions Week 1 depth chart vs. what we're seeing on the field". lionswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "Pro-Football-Reference: Will Harris stats (2019)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  9. ^ Reisman, Jeremy (March 14, 2023). "Detroit Lions reportedly re-signing Will Harris to 1-year deal". Pride Of Detroit. SB Nation. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Lions re-sign CB Will Harris". DetroitLions.com. March 16, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  11. ^ "New Orleans Saints agree to terms with cornerback Will Harris". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 1, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Commanders sign S Will Harris". Commanders.com. March 13, 2025.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Harris_(American_football)
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