New England Patriots: 15 best free agent acquisitions of all-time
47. . SS. (2003-08). Rodney Harrison. 1. player
- 2x Super Bowl champion (XXXVIII, XXXIX)
- 2x Pro Bowl (1998, 2001)
- 2x First-team All-Pro (1998, 2003)
- 34 career interceptions
Rodney Harrison is the greatest free agent acquisition the Patriots ever made.
A fifth-round pick out of Western Illinois, Harrison was drafted by the then-San Diego Chargers in 1994. Over the course of nine seasons with the team, he went to the Pro Bowl twice, was named a First-Team All-Pro once and grew to be considered one of the best safeties in the league.
Harrison also developed a reputation among some of his peers for being a “dirty player,” a claim he denied throughout his career, saying instead that his style of play was just more vicious and hard-hitting than most of his contemporaries.
While with the Chargers, Harrison accounted for 756 tackles, 26 interceptions, 21.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and two touchdowns. His best season came in 1998, when he managed to log three interceptions, one forced fumble, four sacks and 114 tackles.
In February of 2003, San Diego gambled that Harrison – then 31 years old at the time – was past his prime, and so they released him. Just two weeks later, the Patriots scooped him up and gifted him with a six-year contract, trusting Harrison still had enough tread on the tires to get New England back to its winning ways.
And boy, did he ever. All he did in his first season as a Patriot was lead all NFL defensive backs in tackles, pick off two critical passes in the playoffs, start every game for the team, get named a team captain and finish off the season as a First-team All-Pro and as a Super Bowl champion.
Of course, Harrison was still far from done. For the second straight year, he led all NFL defensive backs in tackles during the 2004 season.
Harrison was brilliant once again in the playoffs, intercepting another four passes along the Patriots’ playoff run – including an 87-yard pick-six in the AFC Championship Game and two interceptions (one of which sealed the game) in Super Bowl XXXIX.
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Though Harrison struggled with injuries during his final four seasons in New England, he still finished his Patriots career with 441 tackles, 16 interceptions, nine sacks, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Additionally, he had another 73 tackles, seven interceptions, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one touchdown in his postseason career.
No other free agent pickup measures close to Harrison when it comes to sheer volume of work, caliber of accomplishments, and overall impact on the Patriots as a franchise.