ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Throughout the offseason, John Elway has maintained he will talk with Chris Harris Jr. about a potential contract extension once the draft is complete.
That time has arrived.
“Now that the draft’s over, we’ll make contact,” Elway said Saturday evening, after the conclusion of the draft in which the Broncos added six players.
“We’ll touch base with them and see where they are.”
Additionally, Elway told Orange & Blue 760 he’d personally like to talk to Chris himself, not just to his agent.
Harris and the Broncos first talked about a potential contract extension at the Combine, when Chris’ representatives met with the Broncos’ brass to express interest in a new deal.
The first public move was made when Harris did not show up for the start of the team’s offseason workout program on April 2, sending a strong message in his desire for a new deal.
Things then really heated up between the two sides on Tuesday, beginning at Elway’s pre-draft press conference when the general manager went out of his way to make it known a deal might not happen.
“I said we’re going to talk about it. It doesn’t mean we’re going to do it,” Elway said, after explaining how he hadn’t had time during the draft process to negotiate with Harris.
Later that afternoon, Chris’ agent, Frederick Lyles, gave the Broncos an ultimatum: Give Chris a new contract valued at at least $15 million per year or trade him.
Over the course of the next few days, the Broncos fielded calls from multiple teams about potentially trading the star cornerback, but didn’t get an enticing enough offer.
“There was no contact with Chris or about Chris today,” Elway said on Saturday evening. “So we’ll continue down that path and see what happens.”
If the Broncos were going to trade the four-time Pro Bowler the most valuable time would have been before the conclusion of the draft.
Following the draft on Saturday, Elway had his most positive tone regarding potentially getting a deal done.
“At corner, we’re still in pretty good shape at corner,” Elway said, endorsing the group set to cost over $25 million this year with Harris on the books.
“A lot of times, these things, the flames get bigger and bigger, they fan the flames, you really never know what’s true and not true,” Elway told Orange & Blue 760. “I’m looking forward to, at some point, having a discussion with him and seeing where he is. If he wants to be here, great! We’ll see if we can do something. If he doesn’t, then we understand that, too.”
Additionally, the Broncos did not select a corner in the draft, potentially positive news for Harris re-signing in Denver.
“It just didn’t fall that way. We had opportunities but the direction that we went, we felt that we were better off that way,” Elway said, explaining why the team didn’t draft a corner or inside linebacker.
Elway’s now on the clock again. This time, it’s with Chris Harris Jr.
