How Shelby Harris Went From a Futures Long-Shot to a Big Payday With Broncos
Back in January of 2017, the Denver Broncos made their futures contract signings — players who, in most cases, spent the bulk of their early NFL careers on practice squads, hoping to make it to an active roster someday.
One of those players was a defensive lineman who the then-Oakland Raiders selected in the seventh round (235 overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft. This player had eight games under his belt in two seasons with the Raiders, but mostly spent time on their practice squad, and was waived from the team for good in May 2016.
That player was Shelby Harris.
Before Harris joined the Broncos, he signed with the New York Jets in June 2016, but failed to make the 53-man roster. He was out of the NFL for most of 2016, before the Dallas Cowboys added him to their practice squad.
The Cowboys didn't re-sign him, though, and the Broncos took a chance.
Little did the Broncos know they were getting a gem.
Harris stood out during the 2017 preseason, thriving under the tutelage of defensive line coach Bill Kollar. Not only did he make the active roster, Harris became a key player in the D-line rotation, playing all 16 games with six starts and recording 5.5 sacks (second behind only Von Miller), nine QB hits, 34 tackles (seven for a loss), and three pass break-ups.
The Broncos retained Harris as an exclusive rights free agent in 2018, and while his sacks dropped to 1.5, he still had seven QB hits, 39 tackles (eight for a loss), and four pass break-ups, one of which led to an interception.
It was enough for the Broncos to give him the second-round restricted free-agent tender in 2019. That's when Harris truly broke out, with nine pass break-ups, a forced fumble, six sacks, and 49 tackles (eight for a loss) while starting all 16 games.
Harris started that season as a nose tackle, but didn't fit that role, and was moved back to 3-tech, where he shined. It seemed likely that he was going to get a big payday in the 2020 offseason.
But a long-term deal didn't materialize. Harris decided to return to the Broncos, betting on himself with a one-year, $3.25 million contract.
While Harris' 2020 stats may not have been as impressive as they were in 2019, they don't tell the full story. He missed five games, four of which came when he was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, with the final game of the season lost to a knee injury — which fortunately did not require surgery.
Even with the games he missed, Harris stepped up in a big way, particularly after the Broncos lost Jurrell Casey, a veteran D-lineman acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans, to a torn bicep. Harris, in his 11 starts, logged seven pass break-ups, one forced fumble, 2.5 sacks, 11 QB hits, and 32 tackles, four for a loss.
It's his pass break-ups that truly signify what Harris means to the Broncos. He's broken up 23 at the line in his four seasons with the team.
As the Broncos entered the 2021 offseason, new general manager George Paton indicated that he wanted to get Harris extended. The only question was — for how much?
On Monday, we got our answer. Harris received a three-year, $27M contract with $15M in full guarantees. It turned out to be the perfect contract that rewarded Harris for his play on the field, but didn't bust the budget.
Now Harris enters 2021 as the long-standing veteran among the Broncos' defensive linemen and will be tasked with taking on a leadership role. But something tells me he'll be up to the task.
And to think it all came about from a player who was once just looking for the chance to prove himself. But once he got it, he made the most of it.
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