What should the Broncos do about Chris Harris?

The Broncos currently face a dilemma with Chris Harris.  His current hold out seeking a new extension casts a bit of a shadow over what is a pretty exciting time in Dove Valley.  The Broncos must now decide whether to commit to the shut down corner for the long term, or perhaps be prepared to trade him if the dispute gets ugly. 

The arguments against signing Harris are fairly easy to identify.  Harris will be 30 before the season begins, and time is undefeated in catching players.  While 30 might still be on the young side, a deal that reaches in Harris' mid 30s might see Denver overpaying for the production they are getting.  The follow on argument is just exactly ho much cap space the Broncos want to commit to the secondary over the next several years.  Both Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan signed lucrative deals this offseason, and the pair with Isaac Yiadom will eat up over 23 million dollars in cap space.  Adding another 14 to 16 million might be a bit too much for one positional group.

However, both of these arguments, while warranting concern, are risks that are minimal.  Chris Harris' game relies more on anticipation and a superb knowledge of what an offense is doing.  While losing a step will hurt, its not the most important asset he has.  It should mean any drop offs will be minimally impactful.  It has also helped that Harris has been relatively injury free in his career, leaving no lingering injury fears.  In 2020 the only safety on the roster will be Su'a Cravens currently.  Kareem Jackson though has fluidly played both corner and safety, so the plan might be to roll him there.  This helps to lessen the cap space spent at corner to a point where its roughly the same as this season.  If Jackson plays safety this year primarily it actually strengthens the case for re-signing Harris as well, to ensure there is solid depth.

Overall, the loss of Harris would be pretty devastating to the Broncos defense.  While there are some options in the draft, that forces some compromises for a roster that needs several depth players already.  Its also impossible to bring the ability Harris has demonstrated throughout his career.  You never want to pay for past performance, but Harris has repeatedly shown he's an elite corner.  In the roughly 4 years, 50-65 million dollar range depending on guaranteed total.  This gives Denver some troubles in 2022 when most of the current roster if off the books, but it also guarantees a top tier player to be there through any turmoil.