Super Bowl champion reveals reason for viral freeze during pregame show
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Two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison opened up about his viral freeze during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” pregame show.
Harrison, 52, abruptly stopped speaking while discussing the Washington Commanders’ defense, leaving fans wondering if he was having health problems. The former defender said he was simply exhausted.
“I was exhausted working off a few hours of sleep watching my son play Saturday night. I got 3 hours of sleep on Sunday and had to work all day,” Harrison told MassLive.com in a text message.
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NBC analyst Rodney Harrison before a game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on October 15, 2023. (Mark Konezny/USA Today Sports)
“I was exhausted. But I’m fine.”
Harrison has two sons who play Division I college football. Christian plays safety for Cincinnati, while RJ plays cornerback for Wofford College. Harrison said he has been going back and forth between the east and west coasts to try to get to his games.
Travel fatigue hit Harrison when Tony Dungy and Jac Collinsworth asked him how to attack the Commanders’ defense.
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Rodney Harrison attends a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on November 17, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Image Images)
Harrison began to respond to Dungy’s response with “Yeah, I look like a…” before trailing off. He then said he forgot the question and Collinsworth repeated it again.
“Best way to attack them,” Harrison said before falling silent again. Collinsworth repeated the question, trying to help his teammate, and then Harrison responded to the twice-repeated question by apologizing for his lack of response.
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“There’s a lot going on, sorry guys. You don’t have a lot of discipline on the defensive side of the ball… That’s it… Sorry guys.”
Harrison appeared on the postgame show. In his 15-year career, the two-time All-Pro recorded 34 interceptions, 30½ sacks and 1,206 combined tackles.
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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for News Digital.