James Harris (defensive end)

James Harris
No. 99, 93
PositionDefensive end
Personal information
Born (1968-05-13) May 13, 1968
East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight266 lb (121 kg)
Career information
High schoolEast St. Louis
CollegeTemple
NFL draft1992: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Tackles124
Sacks9.5
Interceptions1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

James Edward Harris (born May 13, 1968) is an American former professional football player.[1] He was a defensive end for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Temple Owls.[2]

Football career

Harris was a quarterback at East St. Louis High School.[3] He attended Temple University and mostly played tight end during his first 2 years before moving to defense as a linebacker.[4] He blocked nine kicks during his college career.[4]

Harris was not drafted out of college in the 1992 NFL draft but was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent, and then was cut during training camp.[5] He then signed with the Minnesota Vikings to their practice but was injured for the entire 1992 season.[3][4][5][6] In 1993 he backed up Chris Doleman at defensive end for the Vikings but was only active for 6 games, playing mostly on special teams.[3][5][6] Doleman signed with the Atlanta Falcons prior to the 1994 and Harris became the starting defensive end for the Vikings.[3][5][6] In 1995 he was coming off two foot surgeries during the offseason from an injury suffered in 1994 and suffered an ankle injury later in the 1995 season.[7][8][9] He did not play as well as in 1994, and he spent most of the season as a backup.[10] He was cut by the Vikings after the 1995 season.[7][10][11]

Harris signed with the St. Louis Rams prior to the 1996 season.[7] After playing all 16 games for the Rams as a backup in 1996, he was cut during the 1997 preseason.[12] After missing the entire 1997 season, he signed with the Oakland Raiders for the 1998 season and became the Raiders' starting defensive end.[13] He also started for the Raiders at defensive end in 1999, playing one game at defensive tackle against the Buffalo Bills in order to take advantage of Harris' ability to deflect passes against the Bills' short quarterback Doug Flutie.[14] Although he deflected 12 passes during 1999, a very high total for a defensive lineman, he only had 2 1/2 sacks, and felt that the Raiders would not want to re-sign him after the season.[15] He proved correct as the Raiders chose not to re-sign him.[16][17]

Personal life

On December 30, 1995, Harris was arrested in Eden Prairie, Minnesota on charges of assaulting a woman who was reported to be his wife.[18][19] He pleaded guilty to third degree assault on January 25, 1996 and received a non-custodial sentence.[20] He later said that he and his wife forgave each other for the incident.[7]

References

  1. ^ The Football Register. The Sporting News. 1996. p. 164. ISBN 9780892045549.
  2. ^ "James Harris". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Pierson, Don (September 14, 1994). "Former state prep QB star grows into Vikings' new pass rusher". Chicago Tribune. p. 4-3. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Aschburner, Steve (October 18, 1992). "Practice (squad) makes perfect (sense) to Vikings". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Caldwell, Dave (August 15, 1994). "Harris Takes Over for Doleman". La Crosse Tribune. p. D-4. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c Hayes, Jim (August 31, 1994). "Doleman's replacement, Harris, will have a tough act to follow". Wausau Daily Herald. p. 2D. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d Thomas, Jim (May 1, 1996). "Among Friends". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 4D, 10D. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Moon has strength to tackle adversity". Star Tribune. July 24, 1995. p. 2C. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Hits and Misc". Star Tribune. November 20, 1995. p. C9. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "Double trouble for jailed Harris". St. Cloud Times. January 2, 1996. p. 1B. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Sansevere, Bob (January 5, 1996). "Oh, but James Harris is such a nice person". The Post-Star. p. C6. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Thomas, Jim (August 18, 1997). "Despite praise from Vermeil, Kirksey misses cut". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3D. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Jenkins, Jim (September 3, 1998). "Catching a Break". Fresno Bee. p. 4. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Swan, Gary (October 19, 1999). "Raiders Used Harris' Height to Foil Flutie". San Francisco Chronicle. p. E4. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Soliday, Bill (December 31, 1999). "Harris doubts he'll return to Raiders". Oakland Tribune. pp. Sports-1, Sports-5. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Bush, David (August 31, 2000). "Return to Glory". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. NFL8, NFL9. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Jenkins, Jim (September 8, 2000). "Raiders Notebook". Modesto Bee. p. C-4. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Associated Press (December 31, 1995). "PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Vikings' Harris Jailed for Domestic Abuse". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  19. ^ "Another Wife Speaks Up". The Spokesman-Review. January 2, 1996. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  20. ^ "Sports Briefs". Deseret News. January 26, 1996. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
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