The Philadelphia Eagles signed a one-year deal with free agent safety Anthony Harris last week.
Harris reunites with his former Vikings assistant defensive backs coach from 2014-2017, Jonathan Gannon.
Gannon is the new defensive coordinator of the Eagles.
Harris is versatile and capable of playing either free or strong safety.
DING DING DING ‼️
The #Eagles make their first splash in free agency by signing Vikings safety Anthony Harris to a 1-year $5 million contract, per @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/FIXEBTcxI7
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) March 19, 2021
Many believe signing Harris is a great move for the Eagles.
From all indications, it seems like Anthony Harris is a steal of a deal for Philly.
Here’s why.
1. A Great Financial Deal For The Eagles
Anthony Harris is 29 years old.
He played his entire 6 season career (2015-2020) with the Minnesota Vikings.
Harris was a UDFA; 15 safeties were drafted in 2015 before him.
His paycheck in the early years was under $1 million per year until 2018 when he received a free agent tender.
He played well especially in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The first time he commanded a top-tier paycheck was in 2020 when the Vikings put the franchise tag on him.
Last season, he made approximately $11 million under the tag.
Harris has never really been about the money; he wants to win.
The fact that the Eagles snagged him for a one-year $5 million deal was a huge get for the franchise.
2. A Good Player and Leader
Though the finances are attractive particularly in this salary cap crunched year, the Eagles are getting an intelligent player who has a track record of success.
Woah! Eagles sign former Vikings S Anthony Harris to a 1 year, 5 mil $ deal!
– 2018: #3 S, 3 INTs, 0 TDs, 24 passer rating allowed
– 2019: #1 S, 7 INTs, 0 TDs, 55 passer rating allowed
– Has familiarity with Gannon from MIN
– Low risk, very high rewardGreat deal.#Eagles pic.twitter.com/ZreuRD26Ol
— Thomas R. Petersen 🦅 (@thomasrp93) March 19, 2021
His game was not at the 2018 or 2019 level last season, but some of that was no fault of his.
The Vikings lost three key starters in the secondary in 2020, Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander.
As a result, Harris was teamed with inexperienced players in 2020.
Harris was often acting as a coach on the field.
Andrew Kramer of the Star Tribune (Minnesota) has followed Harris’s career from the beginning and observed the changes in Harris in 2020.
“Because they play a lot of switching defense with the Vikings, where it’s just pattern matching and reading and it’s really hard for rookies. Anthony had to kind of be that coach on the field and pick that up for a lot of those guys. And he didn’t have an interception. I think that was a big part of why, was just the teammates around him. And the way the Vikings play defense, they weren’t going to bend to Anthony and just say, ‘You just do what you do, we’ll let the corners figure themselves out.’ He had to do it and help them collectively.”
Kramer expects 2021 to be a bounce-back year for Harris.
Though the Vikings wanted Harris to come back, he chose a one-year deal with the Eagles.
Harris is a likeable player and person who has not had an easy path through the NFL.
He lends his name and time to many philanthropic efforts which is an added bonus for the city of Philadelphia.
