Broncos CB Chris Harris demands new contract or trade

[lomaxgrUK]

48 minutes ago, Riftty said:

I'm a little sad the Rams are tight on cap space. I could see Wade doing work with this guy.....

He's already 'done work' with him. Wade made him, without any doubt, the best slot CB in the NFL in his (almost exclusive) blitz man cover scheme, in which Harris is perfectly suited.

I worry about where this situation could go. The Broncos aren't going to just get rid of the guy for nothing. Elway has got to win Football matches and him shipping off one of the teams best players for nothing will not go down well (CHJ is probably the most popular Bronco player out there with Von).

They also have him tied in this year, with the ability to franchise tag next year so whether Chris likes it or not, he doesn't have any leverage here.

Chris is absolutely deserving of a raise. I really hope it was him who made the decision to extend at such a hometown  discount because if it wasn't, he needs to fire his agent immediately. That deal was terrible at the time for him and has only gotten worse with the quality performances Chris has put on the field since signing the deal.

 However, with Chris being 30, wanting a new deal and coming off an injury, are the Broncos going to get compensation they deem worth the earache from fans for trading CHJ, and also sufficient enough for a player of Chris' onfield contributions?

Chris isn't Antonio Brown (AB has actually punked Chris more than any other WR in the NFL), but it won't have gone unnoticed by all players around the league that AB acted like a brat but ultimately got what he wanted. Will CHJ take a 'dieted' version of that approach? Perhaps, perhaps not, but Chris has never been frightened to speak his mind so if the Broncos don't trade him or give him a new deal, get your popcorn ready.

Edited April 24, 2019 by lomaxgrUK

[ET80]

8 hours ago, RaidersAreOne said:

I liked this because those dogs are so damn cute! OMGZ! LOOK AT THOSE LIL BUBBAS!!!

[kramxel]

If they get a 1st for him, that would be good value.

He's a great player, but he's 30, coming from a season ending injury and wants a top contract.

 

[patman]

He is 30 years old and in the last year of his deal. No one is going to give him 4 and 15 and give up a first  while paying 15 mill for a 34 yo Slot corner.   I would  see his value at 3 and 13 to a CB desperate team with cap money,  at  the price of a third.   If I was the Broncos I would give him a 3 year 40 mill extension.  So around 4 and 48, with 12 SB ,and drop the "19 salary to min.

This gives the broncos an easy out in 3 years when he is 33 with only a 3 mill cap hit.    

SB 12 mill

1st year 2.5

2nd year 9

3rd year 11

4th year 13  and potential cut at 33 years old. 

[NcFinest9erFan]

9 hours ago, Forge said:

You should probably work on that whole clowney thing first

[Broncofan]

So the inevitable position gets taken - none of what Klis says below is surprising -  but the willingness to wait until later and get 2020 picks does create more suitors.  Should be an interesting weekend.  

 

[SBLIII]

2 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

So the inevitable position gets taken - none of what Klis says below is surprising -  but the willingness to wait until later and get 2020 picks does create more suitors.  Should be an interesting weekend.  

 

Clowney, Harris and PP might be moved. 

[Scoundrel]

2 hours ago, kramxel said:

If they get a 1st for him, that would be good value.

He's a great player, but he's 30, coming from a season ending injury and wants a top contract.

 

They aren’t getting a first. 4th round or later. Maybe a trade up. Maybe the Lions want him. 10 and Harris to Lions for 8 to guarantee whoever they want there (Hockenson, White, Oliver, whoever)

[Ragnarok]

Yeah, Broncos shouldn't get anything more than a 4th.  

[kramxel]

 

5 hours ago, Ragnarok said:

Yeah, Broncos shouldn't get anything more than a 4th.  

 

8 hours ago, Counselor said:

They aren’t getting a first. 4th round or later. Maybe a trade up. Maybe the Lions want him. 10 and Harris to Lions for 8 to guarantee whoever they want there (Hockenson, White, Oliver, whoever)

Don't understand that whole "shouldn't get more than a 4th" concept. 

He's a top player in the NFL with at least 3 high level seasons in him. Anything less than a 2nd is a robbery, and I feel the 1st would be the more accurate trade, in terms of value for both teams. 

 

[Broncofan]

1 hour ago, kramxel said:

 

 

Don't understand that whole "shouldn't get more than a 4th" concept. 

He's a top player in the NFL with at least 3 high level seasons in him. Anything less than a 2nd is a robbery, and I feel the 1st would be the more accurate trade, in terms of value for both teams. 

 

To be fair, I think there are 3 major contributors that aren't accurate as to why this sentiment exists:

1.  DEN only got a 5th for Talib last year - Talib showed clear signs of decline - he was incredibly vulnerable to crossing routes and quick-twich speed guys the prior 2 seasons.   DEN was also in cap trouble last year, so cutting bait on Talib was seen as the best call, and it was a "get best available price".   Harris has zero signs of decline.  And he can play inside/outside.   We aren't in cap hell anymore, so there's no ticking clock here like there was with Talib (and that's before we get into the off-the-field issues that were becoming more problematic, as Talib clearly quit on the team in-game for 2-3 L's in 2017, and the FO didn't want that attitude being passed on).

2.  The season ending injury - not all injuries are created equal.  He basically had a player leg whipped and collide into him, freak injury.  Non-displaced fracture, 3 weeks later he played in the Pro Bowl.   Total non-factor for future injury risk, and no history of major injury, and no nagging ones.  

3.  The belief Harris can hold out - he can't.  Being under contract, he MUST report to camp by early August, 30 days before TNF Week 1 - or the service time clock does NOT toll, and DEN automatically gains the rights to keep him for 2020 at the same terms - 8.8M.   And each day he misses mandatory activities, it's 30K/day.  Aaron Donald ran into this in 2017, and admitted he got awful advice to hold out beyond the early August deadline, and if he had to do it over again, he'd have reported.  Harris and his agent will know this.   Harris has ZERO leverage here.  This isn't a Leveon Bell or Frank Clark situation where a player can hold out indefinitely until Week 9-10 and still get their service clock to count this season - players who are franchise tagged can refuse to sign and report until Week 10 or so and get that year to count, but with Harris under contract for 2019, the service time early August deadline means Harris has no outs but a trade request.

So yeah, those 3 misconceptions are out there, and they paint the belief Harris won't get much in return.  Now, there are real concerns that make a 1st round pick, especially this year, and on its own, really unlikely:

1.  Harris is turning 30, and the risk of decline as early as 2020 has to be considered (more likely 2021-22 given no signs are there yet, but still it's there), and after 2020 (in which a franchise tag of 13.5M should stay the same), that's a lot of cheddar.   If he were 25-26, he'd easily get the same kind of return we see from Mack / Cooper / Clark.  But being 30, it's a tall order to see a 1st - maybe a desperate team bites.

2. There are alternatives.  ARI has P-Pete, MIA has Xavien Howard.  And while the draft isn't likely to produce an immediate impact CB (there's no Lattimore / Ward this year), it's still 10x cheaper and 8 years younger.    The only time you see 1st round picks given for guys who aren't 25-26 - when no alternatives exist for a team that feels they MUST have that guy to contend (Bradford & MIN after Teddy B went down is the most recent example).

Add it up, I think the idea of a 2nd round net value is reasonable to target, and a 3rd round net value is the floor.    Frankly, DEN's real future need is QB, so I'd be all over a 2020 1st/2nd type pick swap as the main component (1st for 3rd would be awesome, but seems greedy and overly optimistic) - but that would require Elway to really not go win-now.  And that's a real Q.   But if there's no really interesting offers - as Harris MUST report, Elway can easily wait on this, and once the draft is done, then the suitors who still need a top CB and are true contenders who feel they are only that guy away, well, there's more likely to be a more interesting match - unless the alternatives are cheaper.  

Either way, should make for an interesting weekend.

Edited April 25, 2019 by Broncofan

[BullsandBroncos]

I'd be probably need to call in sick to cope with if we got rid of him. Favorite Bronco with Von a close second. 

 

If we had the cap space, even coming off the injury, I'd pay him. He's a high level player that's very deserving. He's come off an ACL and killed it right after. 

If they do get rid of him, they're ditching the win now attack, obviously. He's our only starting caliber corner on the team right now.

[Broncofan]

On a lighter but related note - funny exchange last night, btw, which shows both sides at least keeping a sense of humor.

DEN released an Avengers-style DEN promo tweet.  But guess who it didn't include?  Yup, Harris.     Like how the ARI promo video for 2019 didn't include Josh Rosen, and went viral because of that notable omission.  DEN fans picked up on the Harris omission right away, the replies are hilarious.

Harris being active, on social media, couldn't resist:

The org, realizing the gaffe, to their credit, fixed it.

At least it's good to see both sides being civil about this.  Funny stuff.