Five burning questions: Cecil Lammey talks Chris Harris Jr’s new deal
May 29, 2019, 6:00 AM
Perhaps the biggest news of the Denver Broncos offseason — certainly the biggest since the trade for Joe Flacco — broke Tuesday evening, as the club and All-Pro cornerback Chris Harris Jr. came to terms on an adjusted contract for the 2019 season.
Basically, Harris gets a pay bump from $8.9 million to $12.05 million for this upcoming season, but questions about his future, and the future of the Broncos, still linger.
For those, Broncos Insider and 1043TheFan.com digital talent Cecil Lammey looks into the crystal ball to determine what’s next for Denver and its newly-paid defensive back:
Digital content producer Johnny Hart: Chris Harris Jr. finally got his payday. He’ll get $12.05 million in 2019, but there’s no extension beyond this upcoming season. Who benefits most/least from this deal, and why?
Broncos Insider and 1043TheFan.com digital talent Cecil Lammey: This is a big deal for Chris Harris Jr., Maybe it’s not the $15 million a year that he was looking for, but he gets a pay raise. He’s no longer underpaid, severely, as he’s been, basically, for years with the Denver Broncos. So, for Chris Harris Jr., you have to be happy about these developments. If you’re the Denver Broncos, I hope you don’t think it’s a good-faith move because I don’t think the good-faith moves exist in the National Football League. Listen, if you’re giving Chris Harris a raise when you really don’t have to so that you think next year he can hit the open market and he’ll remember how nice you were to him this offseason, I think that’s flawed logic. And I hope that’s not what the Broncos are thinking. I would have much preferred at least a two-year contract extension for Chris Harris Jr., signing him through the 2021 season and wrapping him up for a good price. And, certainly, you could have structured it in a similar way that the Dolphins did with Xavien Howard, where there’s some stuff and some money on the back end of the deal that he probably won’t reach. So, it would be a bit overinflated. That the real money would get Chris Harris Jr. the payment that he deserves right now, and then the future money, while rather large, you could get out of in case Chris Harris Jr.’s play does end up falling off. So, for me, this is a good deal, not a great one but a good deal, for Chris Harris Jr., and I think it’s a puzzling deal for the Denver Broncos Because you should want Chris Harris Jr. to be a Bronco for life, and this is just a Bronco for 2019. And after that, he probably leaves in free agency.
JH: OK, say Harris doesn’t end up staying in Denver past the 2019 season. What’s the Broncos move once the final member of the “No Fly Zone” leaves?
CL: The move is Isaac Yiadom. In studying Isaac Yiadom’s game at Boston College, you saw a long player, an athletic player, and a very smart player. He’s someone who isn’t tricked by double moves or pump fakes from quarterbacks. You saw a player that was always around the football, had a nose for the ball, and really made a catch to an opponent a difficult one if they were able to grab it. He definitely could knock passes away as they’re incoming. He times that very well. So, in Isaac Yiadom, you’re looking for that next step under Vic Fangio. Clearly, that’s the future of the Denver Broncos, a third-round pick that can play big-time football for the Broncos. And last year as a rookie, we only saw glimpses. You didn’t see that much, honestly. Only a couple hundred snaps from Isaac Yiadom. But he is the future of that position. You’re hoping that you have kind of the next Chris Harris Jr. And that’s kind of the way he’s built. He’s a little bit longer, maybe not the largest or strongest corner, although he is physical and tenacious as a corner. But Isaac Yiadom is the future of this team, and he’s the first player you look to say, ‘Here’s your Chris Harris Jr. replacement,’ if he’s up to the task.
JH: How much pressure is relieved by Harris and the Broncos getting a deal done in terms of the rest of the team for the final OTAs this week and veteran minicamp?
CL: We’ll actually get to see the Broncos as they should be constructed defensively for the first time starting on Wednesday at UCHealth Training Center. And I think there’s a lot of pressure relieved from that because there are no more distractions. I know some people say the word distraction is tossed around too much and there are not really that many distractions in the National Football League and these are professionals and they can overcome it. Well, the bottom line is it was a distraction not having Chris Harris Jr. there because any time we talked to a defensive player, it didn’t matter if it was Bryce Callahan or Kareem Jackson or Justin Simmons, the question always came up about working without Chris Harris Jr. Now, they don’t have to talk about it. They don’t have to think about it because CHJ is out there practicing, performing quite well I might add, with them. That’s what we’re likely to see in this Vic Fangio defense that is very friendly for the secondary because of what the work the front seven does. It makes things not easy but easier for those players in that secondary. And when you have a smart, very, very rugged player like Chris Harris Jr., who doesn’t back down from any sort of challenge, it leads to good things for this Broncos team. So, distractions are done. The defense will be put together the way we’re going to see it during the regular season. And it could be quite significant. The defense will lead the way in 2019. And one of those leaders is Chris Harris Jr.
JH: The pay raise for Harris, from $8.9 million to $12.05 million, is nothing to sniff at. He goes from No. 25 in average annual salary to No. 12. He’s now the highest-paid cornerback on the Broncos roster. But, is his contract’s value equal to his on-field production?
CL: No. He’s still underpaid. That’s the thing. He was well within his rights, even at soon-to-be 30 years old, he’s well within his rights to ask for $15 million a year because Josh Norman sits atop the list, him and Xavien Howard, as those two $15 million a year corners. Now, there’s some fun money in there, some funny money if you will, and their real average is a little bit different from that. But the point is Chris Harris could easily be the No. 1-paid corner, or at least in the top five. So, yes, it’s a pay raise for him. It’s quite significant. It’s nothing to sneeze at. But it’s still not equal to the play that he has on the field. So, as weird as it sounds, even with this big pay raise, Chris Harris is still kind of underpaid.
JH: What do you make of Steve “Greek” Antonopulos being asked by the Bowlen family to present owner Pat Bowlen at his Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement in August?
CL: It’s a tremendous honor for “Greek.” You know that he’s been around the team and the facility seemingly forever. And when you hear reports that Mr. Bowlen, when he was around the facility every day, the first stop of the day he would make at “Greek’s” office. It’s kind of fitting that guy, who has seen so much and knows so much Broncos history, would be able to speak about Mr. Bowlen so glowingly, so insightfully, and, obviously, so respectfully, as we all know and love Mr. Bowlen and everything that he’s done as the owner of the Denver Broncos.
