Broncos Place Shelby Harris on IR, Activate Jake Butt
It's entirely possible Shelby Harris has played his last game as a Denver Bronco. On Thursday, the Broncos placed Harris on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the team activated tight end Jake Butt off IR, who hasn't been on the field since Week 6.
Harris famously stayed in L.A. last Sunday to play the Chargers while his wife had gone into labor back in Denver. Following the game, the Broncos brass chartered a private jet for Harris to get him back home in time for the birth of his son. He got there well in time to help usher his namesake into the world.
However, Harris showed up to the facility on Monday with his knee bothering him. As it so often goes in the NFL, players play through injury in-game, often times unaware, and only realize something is amiss when they wake up the next next day.
Rather than chance anything, the Broncos are ending the season for Harris, who will once again be an unrestricted free agent this spring. It'll be interesting to see whether the Broncos show him the money and offer a long-term deal.
That, in all likelihood, will be contingent on what the team opts to do with Jurrell Casey, who was acquired via trade from Tennessee this past spring but suffered a season-ending bicep injury in Week 2. Casey just turned 31 and while he has five Pro Bowls under his belt, his $11.874 million salary-cap number is a lot to pay to a guy who didn't contribute last season at his age.
Then again, the Broncos could keep Casey and opt instead to move on from cornerback A.J. Bouye, which would free up $13.75M. In both Casey's and Bouye's case, the Broncos could cut bait pain-free with zero dead money.
Having an extra $25M to spend could go a long way toward fitting a free-agent like Harris and Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons under the cap with a multi-year extension for each. We'll know in due time how the Broncos view these issues.
As for Butt, being activated off IR in a meaningless finale tells you how well-regarded he is by the Broncos brass. Drafted in the fifth round back in 2017, after an ACL tear in his bowl game dropped him from a Day 2 selection to the mid-rounds, Butt has only appeared in eight NFL games.
Butt has been unable to stay out of the injury bug's way as a pro. The Broncos have been exceedingly patient and long-suffering with his health, and you've got to believe it's for a reason.
GM John Elway likes Butt. A lot. Because he red-shirted his rookie year while recovering from that ACL tear that he suffered in his final game as a Michigan Wolverine, Butt's rookie contract may be expiring but he won't hit unrestricted free agency and will be a restricted free agent instead.
It's highly unlikely the Broncos RFA-tender Butt, due to the cost, which is estimated by Over The Cap to be $2.240M on the lowest tender (original round). Then again, if Butt somehow manages to have a large role in this finale and catches and blocks well, based on how much love the Broncos have shown him over the years, it wouldn't be completely shocking to see him get tendered.
More likely, though, Butt hits unrestricted free agency. Maybe the Broncos approach him with a low-cost one- or two-year deal to return to Denver, or he could be signed and swooped up by another club, if he isn't RFA-tendered.
Time will tell, but the Broncos' future at tight end appears to be well-secured with Noah Fant, a 2019 first-rounder, on the brink of becoming a star in the league and Albert Okwuegbunam projected back in 2021 after he recovers from his ACL tear. Who knows? Maybe because the Broncos aren't sure about Okwuegbunam's timetable, the team rolls out a few bucks for Butt on the RFA tender but considering the presence of veteran fail-safe Nick Vannett, who's set to return in 2021 on Year 2 of his contract, Elway might call it good and look to the draft for additional depth.
However it shakes out, I'll be pulling for Butt to have a nice season-finale and for him to find some team who believes in him enough to give him one last opportunity in the NFL. There's a solid chance it's the Broncos, just don't count on it.
Butt is such a quality dude, 100% all about football, but has been as unlucky as it gets in the NFL.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
