Al Harris said he would have been satisfied playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, so long as he had an opportunity to start. So when he found out that he was being traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to a post-season contender in the Green Bay Packers, it was the icing on the cake.
"I was very excited," Harris said in a teleconference Friday. "It's a good team, has a good defense. I get to play with Brett Favre ...
"Everybody wants the opportunity to get on the field a little bit more, and hopefully I can get that opportunity in Green Bay."
Harris was relegated to a backup role in Philadelphia, where he played behind Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor on a secondary that was third in the league in takeaways last season.
A durable player who has played in 80 straight games, Harris wanted the chance to be a starter.
Packers GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman said that Harris is a potential starter at right cornerback, but will battle for the job with Bryant Westbrook and Bhawoh Jue.
Sherman said he likes the physical play of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Harris.
He's not the only one.
"I like to play a lot of man-to-man, bump-and-run," Harris said. "It makes it so much easier when you can disrupt them on the line of scrimmage...
"If you look at the receivers nowadays they're getting bigger and bigger...It's important to be physical and not just a cover-corner in today's game."
