James Harris

James Edward Harris (born May 13, 1968) is an American former professional football player. He was a defensive end for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Temple Owls.

Football career Harris was a quarterback at East St. Louis High School. He attended Temple University and mostly played tight end during his first 2 years before moving to defense as a linebacker. He blocked nine kicks during his college career. In 1993 he backed up Chris Doleman at defensive end for the Vikings but was only active for 6 games, playing mostly on special teams. He did not play as well as in 1994, and he spent most of the season as a backup. He was cut by the Vikings after the 1995 season.

Harris signed with the St. Louis Rams prior to the 1996 season. After playing all 16 games for the Rams as a backup in 1996, he was cut during the 1997 preseason. After missing the entire 1997 season, he signed with the Oakland Raiders for the 1998 season and became the Raiders' starting defensive end. He also started for the Raiders at defensive end in 1999, playing one game at defensive tackle against the Buffalo Bills in order to take advantage of Harris' ability to deflect passes against the Bills' short quarterback Doug Flutie. Although he deflected 12 passes during 1999, a very high total for a defensive lineman, he only had 2 1/2 sacks, and felt that the Raiders would not want to re-sign him after the season. He proved correct as the Raiders chose not to re-sign him.

Personal life On December 30, 1995, Harris was arrested in Eden Prairie, Minnesota on charges of assaulting a woman who was reported to be his wife. He pleaded guilty to third degree assault on January 25, 1996 and received a non-custodial sentence. He later said that he and his wife forgave each other for the incident.