Harris saga takes mysterious turn
Bears tackle says injured knee wasn't why he didn't play
CINCINNATI -- The curious case of Tommie Harris became more perplexing Sunday, when the Bears defensive tackle said his left knee wasn't the reason he was held out of the 45-10 loss to the Bengals.
Harris did not practice last week and was listed on the injury report with a knee injury, but he worked out on the Paul Brown Stadium turf about two hours before kickoff.
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)
''It wasn't true,'' Harris said when asked why his knee kept him out of the game. ''You talk to them. If you came here earlier, you saw, I worked out before the game.''
Harris was spotted on the field working out in shorts and a T-shirt, but it didn't appear to be anything overly rigorous. He was suspended for one game last season for conduct detrimental to the team, but he said he was not suspended this time. Had he been suspended, he wouldn't have been at Halas Hall last week and he wouldn't have been on the trip.
''I don't know [if I will play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday],'' Harris said. ''I don't talk if I don't play. I didn't play today. Talk to them.''
Harris said he didn't know if coaches and management were trying to push his buttons or if he was upset with them, but he said he wasn't surprised to sit out.
''You ask them,'' Harris said when asked whose idea it was for him to sit out practice last week. ''You know who to talk to.''
The Bears clearly have been running misdirection plays with Harris when it comes to explaining his situation. On the first day of training camp, coach Lovie Smith declared him ''100 percent.''
Two weeks later, Harris announced he'd had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in March, and he acted as though it was common knowledge.
Last Thursday, in an interview on WSCR-AM (670), general manager Jerry Angelo said Harris ''is healthy.'' Smith said all week that Harris was dealing with pain in the knee, and a team source said he had undergone extra treatments and was dealing with soreness.
Harris was paid a $6.67 million roster bonus a month before his knee surgery, with the hope being that the 26-year-old would return to dominant form under new line coach Rod Marinelli. He has a $2.5 million roster bonus next season that is not earned until June 1.
He showed flashes during the first five games, but there was nothing consistent in his performance and he hasn't been the disruptive force he once was. Offenses are no longer treating him the same way and he's not commanding double teams like he did in the past.
Given multiple opportunities to address why the knee kept him out of the game, Harris denied it thoroughly. Asked point blank if the knee prevented him from playing, Harris replied, ''No.''
Somebody is reading from the wrong playbook.
BENGALS 45, BEARS 10