ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders released veteran safety Will Harris, one year after he had opened the season as a starter.
Harris started the first two games for Washington but fractured a fibula in the second game, landing him on injured reserve until Week 13.
But Harris was surpassed this summer by free agent signee Nick Cross and veteran Jeremy Reaves. Both worked ahead of him from early in camp. Another veteran, Quan Martin, also had played well this summer, according to coach Dan Quinn. Those factors made it easier to release Harris.
Washington also has a new defensive coordinator in Daronte Jones. As the pass game coordinator in Minnesota the past three years, he often used three safety alignments.
Harris was entering his seventh season. He played his first four years in Detroit, which selected him in the third round in 2019. He signed a one-year deal with New Orleans in 2024 and a two-year contract with Washington in 2025.
Washington also placed linebacker Drake Jackson on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Jackson was a second-round pick by San Francisco in 2022 and has been trying to come back from a torn patellar tendon suffered in 2023.