*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 14, 1998: -- Raymont Harris Offered Contract --
According to a report from Jason Cole of the Ft. Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins have made a contract offer to free agent
running back Raymont Harris, formerly of the Chicago Bears. Harris
was originally designated a transition player by the Bears this
spring, but became expendable when the Bears drafted Curtis Enis this
spring.
Harris, at 6'1" and 225 pounds, is a big strong running back
who has been impressive with the Bears when he's been healthy.
Unfortunately, Harris has a history of injuries and in 4 years in the
league, has only completed a single year without missing any games.
Last year was the best season he's had so far, when he gained
1033 yards in 275 carries for a 3.8 ypc average. He also caught 28
passes for 115 yards, rushed for 10 touchdowns and his longest run of
the season was a 68 yard touchdown run in his first game of the year
against the Packers.
Harris reportedly visited the Dolphins' training facility last
week and talked with JJ and other members of the staff. There is no
word on how much money the Dolphins may have offered him, but he's
reportedly looking for a deal in the $1 million per year category.
The Green Bay Packers also have worked out Harris and may also
be interested in him, but their initial contact with him was back in
early June and so far, they have not signed him.
My Comments:
While I've always liked what I've seen of Harris when I've
seen him run, I'm not sure that signing him would be a good idea.
Most of my concerns center around his ability to stay healthy. He
has a bad history of injuries and JJ really needs somebody who can
play every week.
Also, while he's a tough runner, it's not clear that he's a
real game-breaking back. He can punish people at the line of
scrimmage, but he isn't elusive or unusually fast.
However, he has a better history than any other running back on
the Dolphins right now. That doesn't mean that he'll be better this
year than TRBFKAKAJ (or KAJ for short) or Lawrence Phillips, but he
has been better in the past than either of those two.
Statistically, he's very good in some ways and not so good in
others. His best yards-per-carry average for a season was 3.9, but
you could blame some of that on the poor Bears offensive line. He
does play better on grass than on turf and last year he was at his
best late in the game - he averaged 6.0 yards per carry in the 4th
quarter of games last year.
In terms of long runs, he only had 3 runs longer than 20 yards
last year, but 2 of them were a 68 yarder for a touchdown against the
Packers and a 59 yarder against the Vikings, also for a touchdown.
And all 3 of his long runs were in the 4th quarter of the game.
He also seems to play better against more important
opponents. His best games last year were against the Packers, who are
arguably the Bears' biggest rivals in the NFC Central. Against the
Pack last year, Harris averaged 5.6 yards per carry.
So, when he's healthy, he's very dangerous. The problem is
that he has a hard time staying healthy.
However, this contract may not come to pass. Jason Cole says
that JJ is concerned that Harris is really just looking to boost his
offer from some other teams - probably the Packers - by talking to
Miami.
On the other hand, the Packers would rather have Dorsey Levens
back and not have to worry about Raymont Harris. Plus, if Harris were
to sign with the Packers, he would not get a real chance to start when
Levens returns. In Miami, Harris would get a real chance to compete
for a starting job.
So the free agent saga continues. If I had to make a guess at
this point, I would guess that the Dolphins won't sign Harris because
he'll want too much money and would rather play in Green Bay.
Well, at least we'll have something interesting to worry about
this week before training camp starts.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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