Denver Broncos prioritizing Shelby Harris among in-house FAs

The Denver Broncos apparently have Shelby Harris right behind Justin Simmons among in-house free agent priorities, per Mike Klis.

The Denver Broncos’ front office has a tough task of prioritizing their list of in-house free agents over the course of the next two months.

The top priority is obviously going to be safety Justin Simmons, a star player who was named second-team All-Pro and is still just in his mid-20s. Simmons is going to be a good player in the NFL for a long time, and the Broncos will make him their franchise player if a long-term deal cannot eventually be reached.

According to Mike Klis, the player right behind Simmons on the Broncos’ list of in-house players to potentially try to re-sign is defensive lineman Shelby Harris.

Shelby Harris 2019 stats

• 49 tackles (career high)
• 6.0 sacks (career-high)
• 9 passes defended (career-high, league high)
• 8.0 tackles for loss (tie career-high)

Harris’ statistical production this past year was obviously very impressive. He had a 10th pass broken up on a two-point conversion attempt to win the game against the Oakland Raiders in week 17.

He’s been one of the Broncos’ most consistently good defensive players over the course of the last three years, if only on a part-time basis.

Heading into free agency, Harris looks like a very desirable player that the rest of the league will certainly have interest in, but he’s also made it known publicly that he would like to stay in Denver.

But of course, money will be a factor here.

Klis speculated that Harris could command between $9-11 million per season in free agency, and if that’s the case, the Broncos may want to re-think prioritizing him to that degree.

It’s not that Harris is not an impactful player, because he is, but if you’re going to dive into paying players double-digit AAV (average annual value) on salaries, they had better be cornerstone pieces for your franchise.

Harris played just over 60 percent of the Broncos’ defensive snaps last year, the most for his career and the most of any Broncos defensive lineman last season.

He’s clearly a good player for the locker room as well, being one of the biggest personalities on the team.

Looking at this year’s free agent defensive line class, Harris will be one of many players the Broncos could consider but they also have to think about the way he’s already proven himself in Vic Fangio’s defense as a starting right defensive end.

With Derek Wolfe also due for a new contract, the Broncos may not be able to afford both guys. They have second-year player Dre’Mont Jones in line to take a starting job next season, and Mike Purcell as a restricted free agent.

The Broncos definitely need to add depth to the defensive line but they may prioritize a player like Harris who is coming off the best season of his career and has only gotten better and better the last three years.