The Detroit Lions are set to embark on an important offseason and kicked things off by parting ways with one of their better veteran players. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Detroit will release defensive tackle Damon Harrison. Harrison was traded to the Lions prior to the 2018 trade deadline after spending over two seasons with the New York Giants.
Lions are releasing DT Damon “Snacks” Harrison, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 21, 2020
Before his time with the Giants, Harrison played the first four years of his career as a member of the New York Jets. Over his eight-year career, Harrison has been regarded as one of the premier run-stuffing defensive linemen in the entire NFL.
Harrison went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft but has etched out quite the NFL career for himself already. Harrison was named to the NFL All-Pro team during his first season with the Giants in 2016.
Over the past year-plus, Damon Harrison had been doing a stellar job anchoring Detroit’s defensive line. However, the Lions decided to move on from the 350-pound veteran and will save nearly $7 million in cap space as they gear up for the offseason.
Harrison will now join an enticing group of free-agent defensive linemen, joining the likes of Ezekiel Ansah, Chris Jones, Jadeveon Clowney, Yannick Ngakoue and Arik Armstead. Though Harrison is now on the wrong side of 30 years old, he should still get a chance to join a team as a situational lineman on running downs.
