This is a "cram" session for new Eagles defensive end Charles Harris, awarded to the Eagles off of waivers on Tuesday and at the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday wearing jersey No. 95 and starting to figure things out.
A veteran of the league – he was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2017 – Harris understands how it works: The defenses from team to team aren't all that much different, but the checks are and the verbiage is and that's what makes midseason transitions difficult.
But, make no mistake: Harris was all smiles and eager to jump right in after joining a 9-2 Eagles team after playing in nine games with Carolina this season. He is part of a handful of players – and Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio made sure to note that it's going to be a group effort, an entire defensive effort, really – expected to replace the injured Brandon Graham, who was placed on Injured Reserve Tuesday after suffering a torn triceps in Sunday night's win at the Los Angeles Rams.
Step 1 happened on Wednesday. Harris has a feel for what the Eagles are all about, and he expects it to only get better.
"This is a really good team, a great organization, and a top defense," Harris said after practice on Wednesday. "I feel like I'm the perfect fit. I can off the ball and get after the quarterback, get physical against the run. I'm trying to be everything the team needs, however they utilize me, and play at a high level.
"The morale here, across the board, you can feel that winning is part of the culture. It rubs off on everybody. You're ready to win, too."
Harris had three quarterback sacks, seven quarterback hits, four tackles for loss, and 21 total tackles in his nine games, with six starts, this season in Carolina. The Eagles are his fifth team, so he knows much of what is to come is mental: He knows he has to be deep in the playbook and immerse himself in what the Eagles do defensively.
The first challenge is a huge one when the Eagles play the No. 1-ranked offense in the NFL, the Ravens, in Baltimore.
"I have to get up to speed, so that's what I'm doing now," Harris said. "Edge is edge. You have to get to the quarterback, stop the run, set the edge, force everything back inside. That's the job."
This is a step-by-step process and Harris joins an edge group that includes Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt on the 53-man roster. A former teammate in Carolina, Tarron Jackson, is on the practice squad. Everyone is eager to help Harris acclimate. That's the way the Eagles conduct business, and that is something Harris noticed immediately when he reported for work on Wednesday.
"We all want the same thing and I'm here to do whatever they ask me to do to help this team win football games," he said. "Everything will play out the way it will play out. I'm here to make plays and help the team. They've already got the ball rolling, and I'm here to be an assistance to that, not a hindrance.
"It's exciting being here. We have a lot of great players and we're all about winning football games."
