Eagles Add 5th Former Viking to Roster
Dustin Baker
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Next to the Buffalo Bulls (+380), the Philadelphia Eagles are sportsbooks’ odds-on favorite (+450) to win Super Bowl LVII. The Eagles hold a 12-1 record through 13 weeks, leading the Minnesota Vikings by two games — plus a tiebreaker — for NFC’s No. 1 seed.
And speaking of the Vikings, Philadelphia added its fifth ex-Vikings player on Tuesday, safety Anthony Harris.
To make room for Harris and new punter Brett Kern, the Eagles released WR Auden Tate and linebacker safety Marquise Blair.
Harris actually jumped to the Eagles immediately after leaving the Vikings in 2021, so a reunion is afoot as the 30-year-old defender joins Philadelphia’s practice squad. Before this latest Eagles stint, Harris signed with the Broncos in September and played hopscotch between the practice squad and the active roster. Denver utilized Harris on 40 special teams snaps, with no defensive action, before saying sayonara last week.
The Virginia alumnus has played 98 games in the NFL while starting 61, including stops with the Vikings, Eagles, and Broncos. Minnesota found Harris as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and the defender used a few development years in Mike Zimmer’s defense to claw his way to mini-stardom. In 2019, Harris led the NFL in interceptions and was considered a Pro Bowl snub by many. Minnesota retained Harris on the franchise tag in 2020, but his production dipped. He was not a priority to re-sign in 2021 amid a crunched Vikings salary cap.
In his eight-year career, Harris has tabulated 356 total tackles, 10 interceptions, 5 tackles for loss, 4 fumble recoveries, and 3 QB hits. Four months ago, the Eagles traded for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, a safety from the New Orleans Saints who effectively took Harris’ starting job. The Garnder-Johnson trade made Harris expendable, sending Harris to the free agent wire and later Denver. But now the Eagles will have both commodities, although Garnder-Johnson is currently on injured reserve.
In 2021, Harris started 14 games for the Eagles, tallying a 61.6 grade from Pro Football Focus. It was a stark departure from his herculean 90.5 score in 2019 but certainly wasn’t poor.
The Eagles employ five former Vikings at the moment:
- Christian Elliss (LB)
- Marcus Epps (S)
- Anthony Harris (S)
- Linval Joseph (NT)
- Janarius Robinson (DE)
Harris would become the next man up for the Eagles if injuries occurred to the aforementioned Epps or K’Von Wallace. Philadelphia safety Reed Blankenship is also battling injury.
The Eagles beat the Vikings in Week 2 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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