Damien Harris Goes From Injured Reserve To 100-Yard New England Patriots Starter

Two games and four carries.

That was the final stat line for Damien Harris during his rookie campaign with the New England Patriots.

But the running back out of Alabama, taken 63 slots after college teammate Josh Jacobs in the 2019 NFL draft, got his turn on Monday night.

Harris had been activated from injured reserve in the hours prior to making his season debut. His return from a hand issue in September coincided with New England placing fellow rusher Sony Michel on injured reserve due to a quad issue.

And against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, it coincided with volume.

Harris started and played 23 out of 75 offensive snaps for the Patriots. He took handoffs on a team-high 17 of them — a total last surpassed while a senior facing the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.

It arrived in defeat this time. But in a backfield rotation featuring captain James White and versatile veteran Rex Burkhead, it would be time for the third-rounder from a year ago.

Harris finished with 100 rushing yards versus the Chiefs.

He reached that milestone nine times during his SEC tenure.

“It was truly an honor to be out there with those guys, and the O-line, they blocked their butts off today,” Harris told reporters via video conference following New England’s 26-10 loss to Kansas City. “They opened up some holes and they made life a little easier for me today.”

Harris became the fourth non-rookie since the merger to hit the century mark on the ground in one of his initial three NFL games, according to Pro Football Reference. That statistical rarity landed him in the company of former Chicago Bear Jim Harrison, former Pittsburgh Steeler Jonathan Dwyer and former Arizona Cardinal Kerwynn Williams.

The attempts arrived from backup quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham with starter Cam Newton placed on the Covid-19 reserve list over the weekend. And on a road trip filled with small windows of opportunity, the redshirt freshman made it through his.

“Yeah, it was good to have Damien back,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday afternoon. “Again, I thought he played very competitively, ran hard, broke some tackles. It was good to have him back out there. Like all of us, I’m sure there’s plays we’d like to have back. But we’ll keep working. Good to see him get a chance to play.”

A long of 41 down the right sideline marked the highlight on the last play of the third quarter. It saw Harris gallop out of the offset I-formation behind blocks from fullback Jakob Johnson, tight end Ryan Izzo and rookie right tackle Justin Herron.

And at a top speed of 20.6 mph, per Next Gen Stats, it set up New England’s lone touchdown to bring the game within a field goal.

“Ultimately, not coming out with the win was a little bit disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do about it now,” added Harris. “Just move on. We’ve got a new opponent this week and a new challenge, so we’ve just got to get ready for that and clean up our mistakes.”

The Patriots will host the Denver Broncos next Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. And Harris, who currently accounts for a $675,000 base salary and a cap number under $900,000, could play a growing part in what follows.

His 6.4 yards per carry with the Crimson Tide stand first in program history among backs with 400 career carries.