New England Patriots’ Damien Harris Running Into Contract Year With Momentum Despite Crowd

Nine running backs amassed more rushing yards than Damien Harris during the 2021 NFL regular season.

To go with the 929 put forth as a starter for the New England Patriots, his 15 touchdowns on the ground finished behind only LeGarrette Blount in the franchise archives. That tally finished in a tie around the league with Arizona Cardinals Pro Bowler James Conner and behind only Indianapolis Colts first-team All-Pro Jonathan Taylor.

But the breakout year is in the past tense. The contract year is in the present.

Harris will turn 26 next February and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the weeks that follow. The No. 87 overall pick in the 2019 draft carries an outperformed $965,000 base salary and $1.186 million cap figure toward it.

And company.

A spring after selecting Oklahoma’s Rhamondre Stevenson, who balanced contact for 729 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns as a rookie, New England turned back to the backfield. The organization did so for track speed in the form of South Dakota State’s Pierre Strong Jr. and bruising power in the form of South Carolina’s Kevin Harris.

New England has now drafted eight running backs over the past decade. And in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively, this year marked the first time that head coach Bill Belichick’s war room doubled up at the position since 2011.

It makes for a difficult 53-man roster projection as training camp nears. The incoming class is joined on the depth chart by J.J. Taylor and captain James White, who is coming off season-ending hip surgery yet remains the last pick at the position to stay with the team beyond his rookie deal.

That trend has played a part in why the Patriots currently stand 22nd in running back spending, according to OverTheCap.com.

Former first-rounder Sony Michel had seen his $4.523 million option declined before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams last August. His understudy between the tackles took the reins from there.

Harris missed two starts during a 2021 campaign in which he dealt with neck and rib issues, a concussion, as well as a lingering hamstring injury down the stretch. But with a decisive, expressive and explosive running style, the Alabama product hit the century mark five times while averaging 4.6 yards per attempt across 202 handoffs.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Harris faced eight-plus defenders in the box on 31.68% of his opportunities. He wound up with 128 rushing yards over expected and added 132 receiving yards.

It was the same body of work that put him under the “good football category” for the Patriots after ranking eighth on the Crimson Tide career rushing list. It is momentum in a crowd.

BetOnline.ag has the upcoming over-under bets for Harris set at 850.5 rushing yards and nine trips to the end zone.

“It’s a lot of fun just having the opportunity to come out here with this team,” Harris told reporters during mandatory minicamp in June. “Having all our guys back, it just brings all the more excitement. Every time you touch the ball, you want good results to happen. So you got to practice good habits, practice good fundamentals and let the rest take care of the rest.”