Buffalo Bills Harris was drafted in the eighth round of the 1969
Common draft by the
American Football League's
Buffalo Bills, and would soon join fellow
rookie O. J. Simpson in the starting backfield. Continuing the American Football League's more liberal (than the NFL's) personnel policies, the Bills made Harris the first black player to start a season at quarterback in the history of pro football. It was his only start for the season, and Harris threw just 24 total passes combined in the other three games he appeared in as the team went 4–10. He scored his first touchdown on a throw to
Haven Moses for 39 yards in a 50–21 loss to the
Oakland Raiders. He made no starts in 1970, going 24-of-50 for 338 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions in a year where the Bills went 3–10–1 while using newly drafted
Dennis Shaw as their main starter. For his third and last year with the team, he made two starts (both losses) with seven appearances, going 51-of-103 for 512 total yards with one touchdown and six interceptions. After three years with the Bills, Harris was released by the team and signed by the
Los Angeles Rams in 1972.
Los Angeles Rams In 1973, Harris was the understudy to veteran
John Hadl as the Rams went 12–2 and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1969. As the 1974 season began, the Rams offense sputtered under Hadl and the team stood at 3–2 after five games. In an effort to spark the Los Angeles offense, Rams head coach
Chuck Knox promoted Harris as the starting quarterback. In his starting debut for the Rams against the San Francisco 49ers, Harris completed 12 of 15 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another as the Rams won easily, 37–14, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The performance earned Harris a
perfect passer rating for the game. Two days later, Hadl was then traded to Green Bay, and Harris became the Rams' first-string quarterback for the remainder of the 1974 season. The football world was stunned by the bold move. However, Harris came through by leading the team to seven wins in its last nine regular-season games. He led the team to its second straight NFC Western Division title, as well as their first playoff victory (19–10 over the
Washington Redskins) since 1951. Harris thus became the first African-American quarterback to start and win an NFL playoff game. However, he injured his shoulder very early in the Rams' Week 13 win over the
Green Bay Packers; backup
Ron Jaworski then led the Rams to wins against Green Bay and the
Super Bowl Champion
Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as to a 35–23 win over the
St. Louis Cardinals in the divisional playoff game. Knox named Harris the starter for the NFC Championship games vs. Dallas. Harris' first pass was intercepted, and after one more incompletion and a Dallas 21-0 first-quarter lead, he was pulled in favor of Jaworski. It didn't matter as Dallas went on to a 37–7 win. Harris' injuries continued to give him problems in the 1976 season. The Rams went with three quarterbacks; Harris, Jaworski, and rookie
Pat Haden from
USC. With Harris injured, Jaworski opened the season as the starter and was injured in the opener. Haden led the team to a comeback tie against the
Minnesota Vikings in the second game. Harris, with his throwing shoulder mended, reclaimed his starting job and led the team to two wins, including a 436-yard passing performance against the
Miami Dolphins. However, in the next game, on Monday night at home against the
San Francisco 49ers, Harris was sacked 10 times and re-injured his shoulder as the Rams were shut out 16–0 at home for the first time since moving to Los Angeles. The Jaworski/Haden platoon led the team to two more wins, then Harris returned again for a win over the then-first-year
Seattle Seahawks and a loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals. Against the Bengals, however, Harris played poorly and Knox felt like Harris was not fully healthy. After the game, Knox decided to go with Haden as the starter for the rest of the season. There was speculation that owner Carroll Rosenbloom instructed Knox replace Harris with Haden.Under Haden, the Rams won three out of four and the NFC West division title. Knox stuck with Haden in the 1976 playoffs, even though Harris was healthy enough to see action late in the season, including a season-ending comeback win over the
Detroit Lions. Haden rushed for a touchdown in the 14-12 playoff win at Dallas. In the NFC title game, the Minnesota special teams and defense led the Vikings to a 24–13 victory to advance to
Super Bowl XI. Despite the benching, Harris' 89.6 passer rating that year was tied for the highest in the NFC. It was the first time a black quarterback ever led his conference in that category.
San Diego Chargers Harris was released to the San Diego Chargers prior to the 1977 season. The experience with the Rams hurt him. "I lost my passion," he said in the book
Third and a Mile. "Coach Knox was supportive but the owner
Carroll Rosenbloom was going over his head. "As a quarterback, I had done all I could, more than most people could, but it still wasn't enough for the Los Angeles Rams organization to accept me as a quarterback, not a black quarterback," he commented. At the time of his departure, Harris held the highest career completion average of any quarterback in Rams team history (55.4%) and had been an integral part of three straight NFC West Champions. Harris was deeply upset by his trade from a perennial playoff team to a team in rebuilding mode and also by losing his status as a starting quarterback. Nonetheless, Harris maintained a good relationship with Chuck Knox until the latter's death in 2018. Harris is thought to be the inspiration for the NFL films song, "Ramblin' Man From Gramblin'" composed by
Sam Spence. ==NFL/AFL career statistics==