Raiders Podcast rewind: Erik Harris reflects on journey

Every Wednesday, as part of her “Vegas Nation: Takeaways” podcast, host, producer/videographer Heidi Fang talks to a Raiders player or personality. This week Fang talks with Raiders’safety Erik Harris. This has been edited for clarity and length.

Heidi Fang: What can people expect to see from the secondary this year?

Erik Harris: I think our job right now and our biggest goal is just have everybody on the same page and just trusting one another. We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses. But when you play beside a guy for so long, you kind of know what to expect from them. Right? So it’s just playing off each other and having that chemistry.

HF: What do you think about the depth in the secondary so far, the guys around you?

EH: I credit the staff for bringing in guys and giving us more depth. The young guys have really been incredible throughout the whole offseason. Now that iwe’re all in the building together, they’ve done a great job picking up the playbook. The more depth you have, the better you’ll be and the more you’ll last in his league.

HF: Talk about lasting. There aren’t that many players right now on the Raiders’ roster who were there before Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock arrived.. You’re one of a handful of players, five others, I think, maybe, I think, who are still with the team from the pre-Gruden era. To what would you attribute your staying power?

EH: Just trying to be myself and bring as much energy and positivity as I can each time I walk through the door. It’s been a long journey for me. So I just try to appreciate each and every day and be present in the moment, and I always try to make people around me better, whether that’s on the field or off the field.

HF: Let’s talk about your journey. You had torn the ACL and meniscus in your knee. You were working at the Utz potato chip factory and for UPS. There were maybe moments where you thought your football career was over. But you kept moving forward. You kept pushing through all the adversity. What did all that teach you?

EH: The biggest thing I learned is the importance of having a core group of people who will support you through the hard times when you’re down. Right? My wife, my family my mom, my siblings, even my wife’s side of the family, everybody was very supportive. Probably the biggest thing I’ve learned in just having faith. Faith in things that you can’t see. You can’t predict the future, so just leave me in the present moment. I think a lot of times we move so fast through life. I think COVID has taught us all to kind of slow down and appreciate the little things. So that’s how I try to keep each day in perspective.

HF: But how did you rebound? What was the main thing within yourself that pulled you through all your tough times?

EH: Just sticking to who I was and grinding through. Trying to find small victories in each day. When you’re coming off an ACL, the biggest thing is that straight leg raise. I’d probably lifted my leg about five inches off the table and I was so happy. I was so exhausted and it seemed so silly, but it was a big accomplishment for me that day. And that’s kinda all I thought about when I was driving into work that day was, ‘I got to get this straight leg raise.’ So just in small victories in those moments and just setting myself up to succeed.

Heidi Fang can be reached at hfang@reviewjournal.com. Download the Vegas Nation podcasts three times a week at www.LVRJ.com/podcasts. More Raiders: Follow at vegasnation.com and @VegasNation on Twitter.