According to Chris Tomasson, former Vikings G Mike Harris is exploring a return to the NFL after retiring in 2017 because of a brain condition.
Harris spent the entire 2016 season on the non-football injury list with a condition known as brain arteriovenous malformation. However, he says he’s undergoing tests that would give him medical clearance to return to play.
“That would be a cool comeback story, wouldn’t it?” Harris said. “It would truly be a miracle. But anything’s possible. I just turned 31, so I’m a little bit older, but my body feels great. The only thing that made me retire is just one little thing in my brain, but the rest of my body is excellent.”
“It’s a risk, it’s a big liability, but I feel like going to the Mayo Clinic, being around the best neurologists, if I get cleared by them, I’d get cleared by anybody,” Harris, who currently works for the NFL as a uniform inspector at Vikings home games, continued. “But I’m willing to go anywhere. XFL. Canadian [Football League]. I just feel like my skill and size is an asset. I think about playing again every day. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m not going to quit. I’m not going to completely hang up my cleats.”
Harris, 31, originally signed on with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA back in 2012. He spent two years with the Chargers before he was waived at the start of the 2014 season and later claimed by the Vikings. Minnesota re-signed him to a one-year, $1.9 million contract.
In 2015, Harris appeared in all 16 games for the Vikings. He was placed on the non-football injury list in 2016 and didn’t play at all before retiring in 2017.
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