"The Detroit Lions claimed former Chicago Bears safety Chris Harris off waivers today.

"It's going to be weird," Harris told the Free Press. "It's going to be kind of a surreal feeling, but I think it's going to be fun. It's definitely going to be fun."

Harris said he's flying up to Detroit from Little Rock, Ark., tonight. The Bears are on their bye right now.

The Lions put safety Vincent Fuller (forearm) on season-ending injured reserve to clear a roster spot. Harris is not expected to play Sunday but eventually could help the Lions as a backup safety and on special teams.

He started all three games he played with the Bears this year but suffered an injured hamstring in the opener and got burned for a 73-yard touchdown by Calvin Johnson in the Lions' Monday night win Oct. 10.

The Lions (5-2) travel to Denver this week, then visit the Bears in a key NFC North game after their bye. That likely will be Harris' first game as a Lion.

"That'll be awesome," he said. "Man, I'm sitting here smiling right now. It'll be awesome.

"I'm excited. I think (the Lions have) caught a lot of people by surprise. I've been seeing this coming for quite some time now. I knew they were a good young team on the rise, and now they're really playing pretty good football, so I'm glad to be a part of this team that's definitely on the rise and it's going up in the right direction.""