Kwame Harris

Lore & Background

Harris played high school football in Delaware, and was among the top prep offensive lineman in the country. He played three years at Stanford, twice earning all-conference honors and earning named honorable mention All-American in his final season. Harris was among the top-rated offensive linemen available in the 2003 draft, and he played five seasons with the 49ers and one with Oakland Raiders. He was a starter for most of his career, but often struggled with blocking and committing penalties.

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hummed overhead as the fourth quarter ticked down, the Panthers clinging to a one-score lead. The crowd at Bank of America Stadium was a sea of blue, the bass thumping from the PA system. Harris lined up in the shotgun, eyes scanning the defensive front, feeling the familiar weight of the pads and the cool November air on his neck. The snap came, the guard set, and he got his hands on the ball. Two steps, a cut to the outside, a stiff-arm that opened a lane nobody had seen a second ago. Four yards. The crowd roared as if it were forty. He dropped the ball, caught his breath, and was already turning back toward the huddle, because there was another play to run, another drive to keep alive. That was the job. That was always the job.

Reader's Guide

Kwame Harris was an offensive tackle, not a running back, and never played for the Carolina Panthers. He was drafted in 2003 by the San Francisco 49ers, not in 2002 by the Panthers. His NFL career spanned six seasons with the 49ers and Raiders.

Did You Know?

• Harris was born in Jamaica and moved to the United States at age three.
• He played violin in his high school orchestra.
• He came out as gay to his family in high school.
• Harris was convicted in 2013 on misdemeanor counts of domestic violence against his ex-boyfriend.
• He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.