RENTON — For weeks one of the favored questions thrown at Seattle coach Pete Carroll is when will 2016 All-Pro Damon “Snacks” Harrison finally make his debut.
When no one asked Carroll about it earlier this week, the coach brought it up on his own.
“I can’t believe we’re almost done with this and nobody has asked about Snacks. First time,” Carroll said.
Carroll wanted to bring it up because this is expected to be the week Harrison finally makes his debut when the Seahawks travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams.
With defensive tackle Bryan Mone dealing with a high-ankle sprain suffered last week against Buffalo, the Seahawks have a need on their defensive front and an experienced veteran sitting on their practice squad waiting for his opportunity.
“I’m a competitor and I wanted to be out there but I understood,” Harrison said on Thursday. “There was a good thing going here, the guys were playing well, so I just had to be patient and continue to work. There was a lot of things that I needed to work on.”
Harrison was signed to Seattle’s practice squad in early October, bringing with him a pedigree and background far superior than a practice squad spot, although that was all Seattle had available at the time.
But that’s exactly what Harrison needed after spending the offseason unsure if he wanted to play in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seattle was always high on his list of primary options if he felt comfortable to play and the practice squad spot allowed him time to get into the physical condition he needed to be effective.
That included turning down offers from some other teams who were interested in signing Harrison off Seattle’s practice squad and to an active roster position.
“I wanted to be here all offseason. “I had a good idea of where I was gonna end up and I felt like it was gonna be here,” Harrison said. “So I knew it was gonna take hard work, and it was going to take some time. Once the work became a little more than I had expected, I wasn’t going to run from it. I felt like I was supposed to be here.”
Harrison is in his ninth season and spent parts of the past two with the Detroit Lions, where he played in 25 of 26 games. He started all but one game with the Lions after being traded from the New York Giants midway through the 2018 season. His first game with Detroit came in Week 8 of the 2018 season against Seattle when he had seven tackles and a sack of Russell Wilson.
Harrison’s best season came in 2016 when he was voted first-team All-Pro after having a career-high 86 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks for the Giants.
Harrison joked that part of the reason he decided to play this season is having seven kids at home ranging in age from 12 to 5 months, and called his wife a “superstar,” managing all of the children.
But he’s also excited to see how the Seahawks try and use him on the defensive front.
“Whatever they’ve been doing in the past that’s been working for the guys in the middle. I just want to add to it,” Harrison said.
