The Detroit Lions need to revamp their defensive line depth and Charles Harris doesn’t fit in those plans in 2024.
Welcome back to another edition of the Detroit Lions free agent profiles series for the 2024 season. Today, the discussion is team captain and defensive end, Charles Harris. Harris was on the second year of his two-year deal, trying to rebound after injuries derailed his 2022 season. The Lions players voted him as one of the team’s six captains, and with his teammate’s respect and trust, he was aiming to have a bounce-back year in 2023. Unfortunately, he couldn’t recapture some of his early success in Detroit.
Let’s take a deeper look at the case for letting Harris go.
Here’s a look at our previously written free agent profiles: QB Nate Sudfeld, WR Josh Reynolds, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, TE Zach Ertz, OG Graham Glasgow, OG Halapoulivaati Vaitai, OG Jonah Jackson, OT Dan Skipper. EDGE Romeo Okwara, CB Emmanuel Moseley, S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, K Michael Badgley,
Charles Harris
Expectations heading into 2023
Heading into 2023, Harris was expected to get a second chance to redeem what happened in the previous season Back in 2021, the Lions signed Harris on a one-year deal and got the best season of his career. In turn, the Lions re-signed him to a two-year $14 million deal. With that, expectations were high for Harris, but a pretty significant groin injury limited him to just six games in 2022. He had to take a pay cut to stay with the team in 2023.
With the pay cut, expectations were lowered for Harris, but he still entered the season as the expected starter. The hope was he could return to the form we saw in 2021—when Harris tallied 7.5 sacks and 52 pressures.
Actual role in 2023
Note: PFF grades combine regular season and playoffs and reflect a minimum 20% snaps at that position.
Regular season stats — 13 games (3 starts): 291 defensive snaps – 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks.
PFF Defensive grade: 55.9 (100th out of 122)
PFF Rush Defense grade: 64.8 (51st out of 122)
PFF Tackling grade: 69.4 (18th out of 122)
PFF Pass Rush grade: 53.7 (103rd out of 122)
Sadly, the 2023 season was an even worse one for Harris. While he did play in more games, up from six to 13 in 2023, he had one fewer start and his stats were minorly a step back from 2022.
Unlike last season, Harris lost his spot in the starting lineup due to performance, not injury. In fact, he was a healthy scratch for four games in the regular season and the entire playoffs. Harris saw his playing time get reduced as the season progressed with John Cominsky and Josh Paschal starting over him and taking over Harris’ time on the field.
Outlook for 2024
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent
Why Detroit must let Harris go
Harris just couldn’t recapture the magic he had in 2021 once again. GM Brad Holmes made the right move by re-signing Harris in 2022, and I doubt he expected Harris to drop off suddenly in between seasons. Harris is approaching 29 years old this season and the defensive line needs some help overall. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is the best lineman on the team and he needs some help on the opposite side of the edge position. Hutchinson has some help in the interior, but the depth on the defensive end spot could use some upgrades.
Harris had his chance in 2023 to redeem what went wrong in 2022 and he wasn’t able to step up to the plate. The Lions can find someone cheaper and younger via free agency or the draft. It’s never easy to get rid of a team captain—and there’s always a chance of disrupting the locker room—but it just means someone else will have to step up in that role and it’s part of the business when a team improves.
Is there interest from both sides?
I don’t see Holmes and company wanting to bring back Harris in 2024. The team already cut his salary in 2023, and while he might want to stick around for a very team-friendly deal, I think the writing was on the wall when Harris didn’t appears in the playoffs. The team is looking to revamp their defense again in 2024, and one way is to let some of their players go and hope to find players that can contribute elsewhere.
What do you think the Lions should do with Charles Harris?
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