Falcons safety Erik Harris will miss the rest of the year with a torn pectoral muscle (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Falcons will place Harris on the injured reserve list today or tomorrow in order to open up a spot on their 53-man roster. 
The chest injury forced Harris out in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Panthers. That left the Falcons extra thin at safety, since they were already without rookie Richie Grant. Despite that, the Falcons managed to beat the Panthers 29-21, thanks in part to the offensive contributions of Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Davis.
Harris hasn’t been stellar this year, but he has posted 64 tackles and eight passes defended through 12 games. And, of course, the timing is terrible with the Falcons’ playoff hopes largely hinging on this week’s game against the Niners.
Harris, 32 in April, is scheduled for free agency in March after the expiration of his one-year, $1.35MM deal.