Denver Broncos: Chris Harris Jr. doesn’t think he’ll get traded

Although the Denver Broncos are 2-5 and staring down the barrel of yet another losing season, star CB Chris Harris Jr. doesn’t believe he’ll be traded.

The Denver Broncos traded away Emmanuel Sanders, which makes it understandable why everyone would think they’re now more likely to have a fire sale at the trade deadline, even including players like star cornerback Chris Harris Jr.

Up to this point, it’s been reported that asking teams have not met the Broncos’ current asking price for Harris, which should be nothing less than a second-round pick.

Among the asking teams are the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans, per Benjamin Allbright, who has been as plugged into these trade situations as anyone in the media from the beginning.

The Texans actually opted to go a different direction, presumably after talking with the Broncos about Harris. They were willing to part with a third-round pick and ended up getting former Oakland Raiders first-round pick Gareon Conley, a player who was about to be benched or was at least on the hot seat.

Putting two-and-two together there, it’s obvious the Texans didn’t want to part with a second-round pick given their limited draft capital because if they could have had Harris for a third-rounder I am certain they would have done that deal.

The Broncos aren’t going to budge from their high asking price, and why would they? It appears we are very obviously in a seller’s market when teams are getting second-round picks for Mohamed Sanu, two first-rounders for Jalen Ramsey, a third- and fourth-round pick for Emmanuel Sanders.

You get the idea.

The market for Harris has been set by trades around the league and if no one is willing to pay up, the Broncos are just going to keep him.

Harris himself feels like it’s doubtful he’ll be dealt.

John Elway stopped short of saying the Broncos were done making trades before next Tuesday’s deadline, but trading Harris would be a tough pill for this team to swallow.

Although Harris has been vocal about the uncertainty regarding his status with the team after 2019, he’s one of the best players on the roster and a player John Elway signed in his first undrafted free agent class way back in 2011.

The Broncos probably could have traded Harris to the highest bidder back in April during the 2019 NFL Draft, but again no one was willing to meet their price. When games are being played, draft picks seem more inconsequential to teams in contention for the playoffs.

Although it’s pretty unanimously viewed as unlikely that the Broncos trade Harris, I’m not so sure. I could see a team like the Philadelphia Eagles offering a second-round pick if they win this weekend.

The unfortunate thing for the Broncos in this regard? The Eagles may be bidding against themselves.

Or the Broncos may be limited to trading Harris away to teams he would be amenable to re-signing with after the season. Teams aren’t lining up to deal second-round picks for eight-game rentals, but if Harris would agree to re-sign with a team after the season, there’s a decent chance something could work out.

One team that would have made a lot of sense — the Los Angeles Rams — already traded two first-round picks for Jalen Ramsey.

Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if they got greedy and went after Harris as well, but their draft capital is quite limited at this point. But I still think Harris makes sense for them to round out their secondary.

The Baltimore Ravens traded for Marcus Peters, so they’re out of the market for CBs.

The Texans’ draft capital is depleted and they acquired Gareon Conley.

There are plenty of NFL teams who could use cornerback help but the list is getting shorter. The Broncos aren’t desperate to get rid of Harris but they should be open to taking the best offer for him if that offer includes a high pick or multiple solid picks.

Ultimately, there’s no guarantee that Harris gets traded especially if the Broncos go into Indianapolis and beat a hot, balanced Colts team, but if they lose against the Colts, I bet Harris’ trade status goes from 40-60 to at least 50-50.