Denver Broncos: Trading Chris Harris Jr. best for both parties?

The Denver Broncos have gotten some phenomenal years out of Chris Harris Jr., but it might be time for both parties to part ways via trade.

Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. has certainly not been shy about voicing his opinions through the years.

It’s one of the many reasons we’ve grown to love him so much.

Harris was outspoken all offseason about wanting a new contract, and he’s also been vocal about the fact that 2019 may very well be his last year with the Denver Broncos.

Harris wants to be paid like one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and justifiably so. He’s been exactly that since he came into the league in 2011 as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas.

But his time in Denver, although full of many great memories, might come to a quicker end than he thinks.

Harris apparently made a comment to Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post about having just 13 weeks left with the team, implying that his departure after the season is a foregone conclusion and he’s already counting down the weeks until he can shop his services around the league.

Well that’s not great, is it?

I can’t imagine Harris is having the time of his life right now in Denver after winning a Super Bowl five years into his career and then missing out on the playoffs altogether every year since, and it makes sense that he would want to not only make as much money as possible but also play on a team that could actually win something this year.

I’m not trying to put words in Harris’ mouth, either. I’m simply stating with the way he’s been speaking lately, it wouldn’t shock me if a trade out of Denver were the best solution for all involved parties here.

I can’t speak to Harris’ impact on the locker room, his leadership to the players, or anything like that, but I have noticed his visible frustration with the mistakes of others throughout the course of a game. These, to me, are indicators that he’s simply fed up with his situation, and would probably be better utilized in a different environment completely.

Just in the Jaguars game alone, Harris threw his hands in the air in frustration after Justin Simmons was not there for appropriate safety help on a touchdown to DJ Chark that was called back on an illegal hands to the face penalty on the Jaguars.

Harris was again visibly frustrated when Gardner Minshew pulled off some crazy pocket theatrics to break free and float up a touchdown pass to Ryquell Armstead, who in the 10 seconds Minshew seemingly had to throw the ball had gotten open in the back of the end zone against rookie linebacker Justin Hollins.

Again, I don’t blame Harris for being frustrated. He’s only one guy out there and if he’s doing his job correctly while others are not, he’s at risk of getting a bad rap by association.

The visible frustration and vocal frustration and even signs of mentally moving on from this team from Harris all lead to the idea that a trade mid-season may be the best thing for him now and into the future.

If Harris goes to a team that is winning ball games and plays well, he’s probably even more likely to get a big contract from someone this offseason than if he just plays well on a bad team in Denver. It would also be smart of a team interested in signing Harris after the season to give up a decent draft pick for him now.

The draft pick for a winning team, even if it’s a day two pick, is inconsequential. It would also give a championship-caliber team the first crack at ‘recruiting’ Harris to re-sign with them next offseason.

The Broncos might get a chance to re-sign Harris after the season (and that’s looking more and more doubtful by the day), but why haven’t they made Harris any sort of indication they are even the least bit interested? My guess is, the Broncos are also planning on moving on.

It seems like Harris is going to move on after the year anyway, so the Broncos might be best served getting the best trade value possible for him.

It’s not what any of us Broncos fans want, necessarily, but it’s probably for the best at this point.