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New York Jets are wise to re-sign David Harris

By Nick Ziegler

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Not too long after the New York Jets pulled off the big trade to acquire Brandon Marshall, new general manager Mike Maccagnan started to spend some of the money that is available to him.

The Jets’ biggest free agent this offseason was linebacker David Harris, and he was seemingly drawing interest from teams in the division with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins showing interest in his services, but the Jets were able to make sure that Harris won’t be going anywhere.

Harris and the Jets were able to come to an agreement on a three-year $21.5 million deal with $15 million guaranteed.

It’s nice to see the Jets be able to keep Harris, as he is a home-grown talent. In the second-round of the 2007 NFL Draft, the Jets would make a great pick by selecting Harris with the 47th pick in the draft from the University of Michigan.

One of the best things about Harris has been his durability for the Jets, as in the last six seasons, he hasn’t missed a game. In the NFL, it is nearly impossible to find players at any position that haven’t missed a game in the last six seasons, and there is certainly a lot of value in that.

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In Harris’ eight-year career, he has had over 120 tackles in five of those seasons, as he has been a main reason for the Jets having one of the best run defenses in the league during that span. Harris has the reputation as a run-stuffing machine, but he quietly does a very good job at getting to the quarterback with 30.5 sacks in his career.

Harris is getting a bit older at 31-years-old, but last season he didn’t show any signs of slowing down with one of his best seasons. In 2014, Harris had 124 tackles, six sacks, and two forced fumbles.

There will certainly be some adjustments for Harris in 2015, as the Jets’ defense will have a different look after years of Rex Ryan coaching. It is important that with Todd Bowles as the new head coach, that the Jets will still have their defensive signal caller in Harris on the field.

“After hearing the plans and vision of Coach [Todd] Bowles and [general manager] Mike Maccagnan, there was no doubt I wanted to return, help win a Super Bowl with the Green & White, and retire a Jet,” Harris said after re-signing with the team.

Harris may never make a Pro Bowl in his career, but he is a consistently good player for the Jets, and could very well be a Jet for his entire career.

Next: Who was the best first-round pick in Jets history?

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