Shelby Harris Says Re-Signing With Broncos 'Would Mean the World'

Christmas Weekend for Shelby Harris was a whirlwind but an indelible one at that. After traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers, Harris was notified that his pregnant wife back in Denver just had her water break and was fixing to bring his son into the world.

After a chat with Mrs. Harris' doctors and the Broncos, Harris decided to stay in L.A. and play the game, knowing that the team planned to private-jet him back to the Mile High City immediately at the final gun. Don't worry, Harris didn't miss the moment with his family.

"My wife and baby are good," Harris said on Tuesday. "It's just crazy because I actually got to get home for the birth, and I cut the umbilical cord and everything—I pulled the baby out. It was just a real special moment. We named him—he’s a junior—Shelby Lamar Harris Jr. It's just crazy. I truly want to thank the Broncos just for going over and beyond what they had to do to make sure I got back and was there for the birth. It really meant a lot to me and my family and we'll forever be grateful.”

Harris has gratitude for the team but is the feeling reciprocal? You'd assume so, considering the length the team brass went to in order to get Harris back home so quickly following Week 16's loss.

But the love language in the NFL is money and with Harris about to become an unrestricted free agent, he'll know how the Broncos really feel about him based on the contract offered to stay. He learned the hard way that the NFL is a business. But does Harris want to stay in Denver?

“Obviously it would mean the world," Harris said. "My family loves Denver, I love Denver, and Denver's done nothing but do right by me since I've been here. I love it here, but at the end of the day I understand it's a business and so you got to be ready for everything. But truly Denver is—I’ve had two of my kids here—this is home for them, so obviously Denver is a special place for me."

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It goes beyond the Broncos bending over backward to ensure Harris didn't miss the birth of his namesake. After flaming out with the Raiders just two years after being drafted in the seventh round, he bounced around the NFL in 2016 before landing in Denver. From there, well, the rest is history.

"They gave me my first chance really in the league to go out there and really be a player and really believe in me and trust me to go out and do my job," Harris said of the Broncos. "They've rewarded me with four extra years in the NFL, four years of playing for this great franchise. I'm forever grateful to Denver, but my biggest thing though is that it's a business and so I understand. I just go and just play football.”

Harris leaves the business dealings to his agent as he should. Meanwhile, the Broncos have some very big decisions to make soon and it's not just Harris. Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons will be an unrestricted free agent, and all eyes are on the Von Miller situation to see if the Broncos bring him back for the final year of his deal.

However, if the Broncos move on from defensive lineman Jurrell Casey and cornerback A.J. Bouye — both of whom were acquired via trade in the offseason but missed lots and lots of time — it would free up plenty of cap space to re-sign Harris and get Simmons locked down long-term. Doing so would free up north of $25 million on the cap and likely make examining Miller's contract a moot issue.

Harris has more than earned his place in Denver and a long-term deal. You can't put a value on that clutch gene of his and he's finally turned the corner as a run defender, becoming a complete defensive lineman under Bill Kollar.

Salary cap websites like Spotrac projected Harris to command $11M/year on last year's free-agent market. Harris found that number to be vastly overestimated when push came to shove and he settled for a one-year deal with the Broncos worth $3.25M. This year, I'm betting that he reaches that figure, whether in Denver or elsewhere.

“My thing is this—I don't care about the market," Harris said. "I've got nothing to do with the market. That's my agent’s job. My job is to go out there and play football, and that's what I feel like last year you get caught up in listening to too much stuff. That's why we have an agent... My job is to go out there and play football.”

Despite missing four games due to COVID-19, Harris has started 11 games, totaling 32 tackles (20 solo), four tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and 11 QB hits. His seven batted passes lead all NFL defensive linemen, despite missing one-quarter of the season.

How many of those tipped balls were on third down? Several. And one tip was intercepted. There's that clutch gene.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.