It's all but confirmed that Kaden Elliss will be leaving the Atlanta Falcons in free agency this offseason. Not only do they not have the cap space it would likely take to retain him, the Falcons have seemingly already found their replacement for Elliss in Houston Texans' linebacker Christian Harris.
According to NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, Atlanta has agreed to terms on a contract with Harris, the terms of which are currently unknown. To me, this move screams Jeff Ulbrich reclamation project, especially with what he accomplished with Divine Deablo in 2025 as the defense tries to get younger.
The one issue with the Harris move is that he comes with a pretty alarming injury history. The 2022 third-round pick has been hampered by injuries, including a nagging calf issue that restricted him to just three games in 2024, and once he returned, that was when Speed and To'oTo'o both stole his job.
The Falcons are preparing to replace Kaden Elliss with Christian Harris
The 25-year-old made an instant impact for Houston's defense as a rookie, improving enough to surpass 100 total tackles in his second NFL season. However, the last two seasons, Harris has been relegated to more of a complimentary role since E.J. Speed and Henry To'oTo'o both outplayed him to the point they assumed the starting LB spots next to Azeez Al-Shaair.
The argument to be had here is that if Ulbrich can do it with Deablo, he can definitely do it with Harris. After all, they were Day 2 draft picks that were a year apart, but Deablo was both better and more productive before he signed with the Dirty Birds, so this one might be a bit harder for fans to support.
For all of the doubters, Harris only turned 25 in January, so he'll help this defense get younger and more versatile, which is in line with Ulbrich's MO. He also played a role in helping Alabama win the2020 national championship, and has proven that he has the athleticism to make an immediate impact in Atlanta.
At the very worst, Harris can be a solid special teams contributor, which is where he spent most of his time in 2025, but odds are that the Falcons give him a chance in an expanded role. It shouldn't be particularly hard to beat out JD Betrand, and since Troy Andersen is never healthy, he'll likely start.
Even still, hopefully Harris has a bright future ahead of him, because he seems like he could be Ulbrich's latest defensive reclamation project.