After a month on the Redskins practice squad, cornerback Jeremy Harris will have an opportunity to play some snaps on Sunday for the first time this season.
Cornerback Jeremy Harris said it was a "surprise" when he found out he was called up from the practice squad to the Redskins active roster on Tuesday, that after a month with the team he didn't expect an opportunity to play in the Redskins' last regular season game.
"I knew some guys were down but you never really know until people call you to come up," Harris said.
Check out these photos of the Redskins' defense and special teams preparing for their Week 17 match up against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, at Redskins Park in Loudoun County, Va.
Harris was drafted by the Jaguars in the last round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of New Mexico State but was placed on injured reserve before the season began. The next year he made his debut, playing in six games and collecting five tackles.
He didn't make the team a year later and has spent 2015 bouncing around practice squads with the Chiefs and Jets before the Redskins signed him at the end of November. Thirty days later, he got the call to the active roster for the team's trip to Dallas.
That his first game action will come in a longstanding division rivalry hasn't been overlooked.
"I think there always is [added energy]," he said. "Me being new to the Redskins, but knowing a little history about the rivalry, it brings a little excitement to it."
Harris said he felt he fit in right away in terms of defensive coordinator Joe Barry's scheme and that talking with other corners helped with his familiarity and learning the system.
With the Redskins already having clinched their division, this week offers him a slightly expanded opportunity to get some reps on special teams and acquire some film as the season comes to an end, as his future remains uncertain.
His goal?
"To continue to get better any way possible and definitely help my team from my aspect, because I definitely feel like we 've got something going," Harris said. "We've got a good momentum to keep it rolling."
So far his transition has been easy thanks to a locker room that has welcomed him, like all new players, and made him feel part of the regular roster.
"Pretty much all the guys in the room, the [defensive backs] room, have all really been helpful," Harris said. "All around the building everybody is really good, friendly."
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