“I saw that,'' Harris said of the coach's comments. “It bothered me somewhat, but not enough for me to get all bent out of shape about it.”
Harris said he prefers to look ahead and hopes to land soon with another NFL team.
“Things are going to be said that you like and things are going to be said that you don't like,” he said. “It's all about how you respond. I can't change their feelings or their comments. I just deal with it.”
Harris admitted his play wasn't All-Pro caliber through the first seven games of the season, but he didn't think it was awful, either. Harris missed three games because of a hamstring injury and said he returned too quickly for the Week 5 game at Detroit. He struggled against the Lions and was benched then asked for a trade after not dressing versus the Vikings in Week 6.
His release Thursday came after he started last Sunday's win over Tampa Bay in London, with Major Wright sidelined by hip injury. Harris dropped an interception against the Bucs, and he and cornerback Charles Tillman took blame for a Tampa Bay touchdown.
“I thought I played OK against Tampa Bay,'' Harris said. “They just wanted to go with the future. They drafted Major Wright in the third round. They drafted Chris Conte in the third round.''
Now Harris, a former sixth-round pick, hopes for a new start elsewhere. Since the NFL is well beyond the trade deadline, Harris has to go through the waiver process. If claimed, his new club is on the hook for $ 644,000, the remainder of Harris' $ 1.095 million salary this season.
Harris has a couple destinations in his mind, if those teams are willing to show interest: Denver and Carolina. The Broncos are coached by John Fox, Harris' former coach in Carolina. And the Panthers are coached by Ron Rivera, Harris' former defensive coordinator with the Bears.
“I have a great relationship with John Fox and that would be a great opportunity,” Harris said. “He's a coach I have a lot of respect for. We communicate back and forth every once in a while.
“And I wouldn't have any problem going back to Carolina. That's home. That's where my house is. My daughter lives there.”
The Broncos already have a Chris Harris on the roster, but he's a cornerback. In terms of safeties, Denver starts Brian Dawkins at strong safety rookie� second-round pick Rahim Moore at free safety. Rookie� Quinton Carter, a fourth-round pick, is Dawkins' backup.
Carolina had four safeties listed on the depth chart with Charles Godfrey starting at strong safety and Sherrod Martin at free.
The Houston Texans are looking for depth at safety after former Bear Danieal Manning, the starting free safety, suffered a broken leg.
“At the end of the day, I'm not picky,” Harris said. “I just want an opportunity to go out there and play football.”
Twitter @vxmcclure23
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