Thread: Broncos open contract negotiations with Chris Harris

UPDATE: Well, apparently Chris Harris wants too much money and the negotiations with the Broncos "have stalled" according to ESPN reports:

Late last night ESPN's Josina Anderson reported that an NFL source has told her that contract talks between the Denver Broncos and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. have "stalled a bit".

There was apparently an offer by the Broncos, and a counter-offer by Harris' agent, and no further talks by the Broncos. That indicates they weren't happy with the counter and negotiations are currently stalled until the end of the season when Harris will be a FA along with D.T., Julius Thomas, Franklin, Rahim Moore, Virgil Green, Nate Irving, etc., etc. About 1/2 the team will be FAs.

So, this doesn't look good. There's still a chance the Broncos will negotiate a new deal with Harris after the season, but it will cost them a HUGE fortune. He'll be among, if not the top FA CB available and you can bet that teams will be trying to lure him away from the Broncos with a GINORMOUS contract, and deliberately trying to prevent the Broncos from keeping him.

Same thing with D.T. and Julius Thomas.

So, there's some hope, but this basically was fairly predictable, that the team waited far too long to negotiate with Harris. He has very little incentive to sign a deal now for less than what Talib got - $57 million and $26 million guaranteed. It will take at least that to keep Chris Harris.

I like me some Chris Harris but not at the cost of losing DT or JT. We MUST keep our guys on offense so when Manning retires our new QB can hit the ground running.

Someone posted that contract negotiations have stalled. This is what happens when you wait too late to sign good players. You end up paying a premium when you could have got a discount last year and been prepared long term. Now it looks like Harris is going to play out the year and if he plays bad, which I doubt will happen, then he might not get Talib money after all. The balls in his court now, not Elways, because if we don't sign him then some lucky team will pay it.

If you want to follow Harris then here is his website: http://chrisharrisjr.com/

To be fair, it SHOULD: Harris is more versatile and reliable than Talib, plus 4 years younger. Not to mention he's flat out PLAYING BETTER right now.

You're right we should've taken care of this sooner, but it was hard to do that AND sign multiple FA Pro Bowlers annually because the first ballot HoFer under center's pushing 40. Win from Now on's a nice theory, but just not feasible in the modern NFL: Reality forces teams to prioritize and make choices.

I can't blame Harris a bit; we could've given him more than a tender offer last year, and he knows his ACL could rip again tomorrow (heaven forbid) plus he'll be 30 before the end of whatever deal he signs now: This is one and only time to cash in, and he needs to take full advantage of it. Any agent who tells him otherwise isn't doing his job.

Originally Posted by DenBronx

I like me some Chris Harris but not at the cost of losing DT or JT. We MUST keep our guys on offense so when Manning retires our new QB can hit the ground running.

Great receiving TEs who can't block the sun out of their eyes aren't such a rare or indispensable commodity Orange Julius is irreplaceable: Compleat CBs who cover, tackle and play run support both on the outside and in the slot ARE that rare. It's increasingly clear the Post-Manning Broncos will be about the Orange Crush rather than the offense, and a 25-year-old total package like Harris is the kind of guy those defenses are built around, same as Von Miller. Absent Manning, there's not much to be excited about on offense; basically DT, Sanders and a former All Pro LT with an oft-injured left leg pushing 30.

Ask yourself how last Sundays final looks if our D doesn't hold that 3-6 team to FGs or nothing on every drive except the one where we gave them the ball inside our 20. Keep the do-it-all WR and CB, dump the one-trick pony TE. Demaryius Thomas is a better WR AND TE than Julius Thomas, who's not Gronk, or Vernon Davis, or Jason Witten: Those guys lay people OUT on runs. Ex-shooting guard TEs are increasingly common in the NFL; we can find another, and he'll probably block and run routes better than a guy who's still learning the game after just a year each of college and pro ball.

Maybe the Broncos couldn't sign Harris sooner because they tried that discount last year, or because he was coming off an ACL.