Report: Eagles claim Charles Harris off waivers from Panthers

Philadelphia is adding a veteran edge rusher to their roster following Brandon Graham’s season-ending injury.

The Philadelphia Eagles claimed veteran edge defender Charles Harris off waivers from the Carolina Panthers, as first reported by PHLY’s Zach Berman.

Harris, who turns 30 in March, was originally selected by the Miami Dolphins with a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft. One might recall that he was once a rumored draft target for the Eagles, who instead selected Derek Barnett at No. 14.

Harris didn’t quite pan out as the Dolphins had hoped, logging just 3.5 sacks in 41 games with them before they traded him to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round pick. Harris logged three sacks in 13 games with ATL before he signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency.

Harris posted the strongest numbers of his career in 2021, when he had 7.5 sacks, 10 TFLs, and 16 QB hits. The Lions rewarded him with a wo-year contract, $13 million contract extension but Harris only produced two sacks in 19 games played between 2022-2023.

With the Lions clearly not super interested in re-signing him again, Harris remained a free agent until he signed with the Panthers in September. He logged three sacks, four TFLs, and seven QB hits in nine games with them this season before getting cut to make room for the Panthers claiming Akayleb Evans.

Here’s what our associates over at Cat Scratch Reader recently wrote about the dismissal of Harris:

Harris was tied for the team lead in sacks with three on the season. He was tied with A’Shawn Robinson, but, as the team website notes, his playing time was quickly disappearing with the effective return of outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum from injured reserve. Hopefully this is also a sign of how they feel about the impending return of Amare Barno from IR.

For those unfamiliar, Wonnum and Barno are younger than Harris and it makes sense that the Panthers are prioritizing youth when they’re not contending for a playoff spot anyway.

Now in Philly, Harris figures to contribute to an Eagles pass rush rotation that obviously just took a huge loss with Brandon Graham suffering a season-ending injury. Given his track record of experience and production, he’s a credible option to add to the mix of Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt.

Then again, it’s quite possible Harris won’t make much of a positive impact. He ranks 110th out of 127 edge rushers graded by Pro Football Focus this season. He ranks 96th out of 122 edge defenders in their “Pass Rush Productivity” stat. Harris has notable size/athletic limitations:

But, hey, the Eagles had to do something to address defensive end and their options weren’t exactly ideal.

With Harris joining the roster and K.J. Henry signing to the practice squad, the Eagles are probably done making edge rusher moves at the moment.

Harris highlights: