Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Harris, Jr. Sounds Amenable to a Broncos Return but Says it's Elway's Decision
Veteran cornerback Chris Harris, Jr. is exactly one month away from the opening of the NFL's free agency period. On March 16, the legal tampering period will begin and two days later, free agency will open in earnest.
Harris is supremely curious to see what type of market there is for his services. That's the one silver lining he seems to have found in the uncertainty of his future with the Denver Broncos; at least he gets to test the open waters of unrestricted free agency for the first time in his storied career.
Meanwhile, fans and media alike are dying to know whether Harris will re-sign with the Broncos after spending his first nine NFL seasons in Denver, going to four Pro Bowls and helping the team bring home the Lombardi Trophy. Harris was put on the spot by Justin Adams of 104.3 the FAN on Monday, asking what his odds of returning to Denver are. Harris threw up his hands and passed the buck.
“That’s not a question for me, though,” Harris told Adams and Nicki Jhabvala of the Athletic who guest-hosted alongside on Presidents Day. “You gotta ask John Elway that. People put it on me. It’s not me. You know? It’s not on me. They make the decisions of what they want to do. If they want me back, then I’ll be back.”
In her written article on the subject, Jhabvala reports that "there had been talks between his agent and the Broncos" but since the team moved on from former cap wizard Mike Sullivan and hired Rich Hurtado, former player agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), to take over as the lead contract negotiator, it's been crickets.
“I guess they just started over, started anew, got a new plan or whatever,” Harris told Adams and Jhabvala. “I haven’t heard.”
In the same conversation, Harris was quick to stick his foot in the ground and take exception to the notion that his days in Denver are done. He still has the Broncos listed as a top destination and he still has some optimism about a return but he's right; its not 100% within his control. Elway has to be the one to make the first move and make Harris one of the team's free-agent priorities.
Just last year, the Broncos gave a 31-year-old Kareem Jackson $33 million on a three-year deal, with a whopping $23M guaranteed. Harris will turn 31 later this year and although his play dipped somewhat within the role new head coach Vic Fangio carved out for him on defense, he believes he's still got plenty of juice left in the tank and more than enough energy to out-grind "23-year-olds".
But it's important to Harris to land with a team that will use him right within the defensive scheme and allow him to play to his strengths. It was the exact opposite last year for Harris in year one in Fangio's defense.
Harris revealed that Fangio was "adamant" about him sticking with the opposing team's No. 1 receiver and playing outside cornerback. Traditionally, Harris would play outside when the Broncos were in their base defense but as soon as the opponent rolled out three wide receivers, he'd move inside to the slot where he thrived because the could "do more within the defense".
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In the wake of the injuries the Broncos suffered last season, and Fangio's stubbornness to keep Jackson at safety instead of corner, Harris was left on an island all year and no surprise, it wasn't his forte. Harris was "burned" on four touchdowns and gave up 10 big passing plays of 20-plus yards.
Comparatively with the rest of the NFL, believe it or not, Harris' numbers weren't terrible. They often came at the most inopportune time in a game and after hardly him rarely getting burned during the eight years prior, fans weren't used to seeing him on the losing end of his matchups as often as he was. Compared to the likes of top-shelf cornerbacks like Dallas' Byron Jones, Detroit's Darius Slay and Tennessee's Logan Ryan, Harris' numbers were similar.
The question in all of this is how big of a need Elway views the cornerback position. From the outside looking in, it feels like a DEFCON 1 level hole, considering that the top-two players the Broncos currently project at the cornerback position are each coming off an injury-plagued 2019 campaign.
Bryce Callahan is yet to suit up for the Broncos thanks to a nagging foot injury, while De'Vante Bausby flashed in a couple of games in the first quarter of the season before suffering a severe neck injury in Week 5 that cost him the rest of the season. The Broncos do not have a single proven corner the team can count on in 2020.
It comes down to this; is Elway more comfortable with the devil he knows? Or the devil he doesn't? There are a few options poised to hit unrestricted free agency and a couple even who could be had via trade. But Elway will have to pay for the privilege.
In a perfect world, Harris is a team's No. 2 corner in base packages and the top slot guy. That role isn't worth the top-of-the-market money he appears to be intent on getting, though, which explains why the Broncos have been slow to approach his camp about getting reupped. A player like the aforementioned Byron Jones, he is a prototypical No. 1 cornerback whom any team could justify paying $15-16M per year.
Especially considering his age, it's harder to talk yourself into Harris being worth that kind of money, especially when he fully admits that playing outside corner 90% of the time is not his bag. Still, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if the Broncos came strong with an offer of $13M/year over three years with the first two years fully guaranteed, barring on outside offer that blew that one away by many millions, Harris would take that deal and stay.
But the Broncos would still need to find one more starting-caliber corner this offseason in order to hedge against the possibility that either Callahan or Bausby doesn't bounce back to form. Honestly, the Broncos are in an unenviable position with regard to Harris. It's easy to understand the team's reluctance, despite Harris' prolific resume in the Orange and Blue.
Whatever happens, Harris believes the Broncos are on the right path with the quarterback position solved. Thanks to Drew Lock, this team has "bounced off the bottom" and are trending up.
“Oh, man, I like Drew. I like Drew a lot,” Harris told Adams and Jhabvala. “That’s one thing definitely — I’m still looking at the Broncos. I don’t know why people already counted that out. I wouldn’t count it out at all. But Drew is nice, man. I don’t have any issue with Drew. I think he came out and played with a lot of confidence. He got our team energized and went out there and won games. Once we get (Bradley) Chubb back and we get pieces around what we got there and add some more on the offense, shoot, I still (think) we can still compete.”
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
