Will Harris has played in 97 NFL games, and the Washington Commanders have really missed him in 2025.
Harris fractured his fibula in Week 3 when the Commanders blew out the Raiders, raising their record to 2-1. Some reported that the fractured fibula may have ended Harris’s 2025 season. Harris instantly was thinking quite differently, however.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told the media Friday that Harris was thinking about when he could return to the Commanders soon after the injury. The Commanders felt Harris was better in pass coverage, and so they were determined to sign Harris in the offseason. Of course, they didn’t plan on his fracturing a fibula.
“First thing I thought like the background with Will, I think some know, but not everybody knows. Like from the cover side, like came into the league as a corner who could play inside and play nickel, and then move to safety. I love Will’s urgency. You know, the importance of it, the detail of it.”
Harris has been deeply missed, as the back of the Commanders’ secondary has really fallen short of acceptable standards in pass coverage in recent weeks.
“He loves football, and we’re remarking the night he got injured, like he hadn’t even had the surgery yet. I’ll be back in this much time. You know, like he was already saying that that night. It’s like, just get the surgery this week, okay? [Laughs] But that kind of gives you a window into him, you know, about who he is and what, like, he’s itching to get back, you know, with the team.”
Harris returned to the side fields last week, doing some running, some mobility, working hard to return as soon as he can. “He’s here doing rehab now, he’s hitting the marks that he’s supposed to, but it’s the coverability, it’s the urgency that he plays with. I kind of felt that way from the whole time he was here. There’s urgency to be a part of it. So, we definitely miss him. We’re looking forward to getting him back. So, as we’re getting closer to that, you know, I like the progress that he’s making, but that’s just a few of the things that he brings.”
Harris will turn 30 in December, so he has had the opportunity to learn much about the NFL since being drafted by the Lions out of Boston College in the 2019 NFL draft (81st overall). With the Lions from 2019-23, Harris moved on to New Orleans, playing with the Saints in 2024. He signed a two-year deal with Washington in March.
The Commanders have missed Harris, and his return could be a boost to a badly struggling unit.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Could safety Will Harris return soon?
