Stokley: Broncos need to ‘find a way’ to get Harris an extension
Apr 15, 2019, 7:59 PM | Updated: Apr 17, 2019, 12:10 pm
As the Denver Broncos hit the field for the first true practice of the offseason, veteran cornerback Chris Harris Jr. will not be among his peers.
Instead, Harris will skip the team’s voluntary veteran minicamp, as he’s done with Denver’s previous workout sessions the past two weeks, as he seeks an extension to his current contract.
In an interview with 9News this week, Harris may clued in Broncos Country on how long he wants a potential extension to be, saying, “These next three years, I’m about to go crazy. If they want me to be here, I’ll go crazy these next three years, I’ll guarantee it.”
With those parameters in mind, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said it shouldn’t be “difficult” for the Broncos to wrap up Harris before things get stickier down the line this offseason.
“When he says three years, he’s already got one year on his deal, you add two more to it and you bump his salary up. And I think that should be not that difficult to do and accomplish,” Stokley said. “I think the Broncos need to find a way to get that done, if that’s the case.”
In terms of money, Stokley said paying Harris a little bit above free agent acquisition Kareem Jackson’s $11 million per year salary should “get the job done.”
“Get him to around $12 million, and I think that would be what works here,” Stokley said. “Make him the highest paid guy on the team in the secondary, which he should be.”
Currently, Harris enters the final year of the five-year deal he signed in December 2014 and is expected to earn $7.8 million in base salary this season.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.