Long-time Ottawa REDBLACKS receiver RJ Harris is retiring from the CFL.
“After over 20 years, I have finally come to the decision to step away from the game,” Harris said Friday in a statement. “From starting as a defensive end with the one-bar face mask in youth league, to an eight-year professional career in both the NFL and CFL, I can honestly say I lived my dream. It’s truly been a blessing and an honor to have had the opportunity to play at the highest level possible.”
The German-born, Maryland-raised Harris first came to Ottawa in 2017 after practice squad stints in the NFL with New Orleans and Atlanta and in the CFL with BC and Winnipeg. The University of New Hampshire product made his REDBLACKS debut in 2018; he would ultimately dress for 16 games that season, catching 49 of 67 passes for 697 yards and two touchdowns while helping Ottawa reach the Grey Cup game. Harris would set a career high in 2019 when he caught 62 passes for 774 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had a 77-yard performance in the 2018 East Final as Ottawa defeated Hamilton to move on to the championship game.
In 49 career games over four full seasons, Harris wraps up his CFL career with 174 catches for 2,241 yards and four touchdowns.
“To the Ottawa REDBLACKS, I can’t even put into words what the organization has done for my family and I. You accepted us as one of your own and genuinely cared and supported me and my family.”
As for his legacy in Ottawa, Harris said: “I just want people to remember me as a hard worker who showed up every day and left it all out there.”
