When the Denver Broncos gave cornerback Chris Harris Jr. a pay raise for 2019 without adding any years to his contract, some fans and pundits assumed the team might be planning to franchise tag the four-time Pro Bowler in 2020.
That’s apparently not going to happen.
Vic Lombardi of Altitude Sports reported Tuesday that the two sides have a “mutual agreement” that Harris won’t receive a tag next spring.
This year, the franchise tag number for a cornerback is $16.022 million. Next year’s number is yet to be determined.
Even after giving Harris a pay raise, Denver is still only paying him $12.05 million this year, so it makes sense that the team doesn’t want to pay him $4 million more than that next season.
Harris doesn’t want to be tagged, either. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next year and somebody will probably give him a multi-year deal.
“I’m the fourth [highest-paid] cornerback this year [in 2019 cash] and after this season I’ll hit free agency and be No. 1,” Harris told KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. That remark may be a sign that Harris is about to play his final season in Denver.
Broncos general manager John Elway said the club hopes Harris will stay with the team “for years to come,” but it’s hard to imagine Denver making a 31-year-old veteran the league’s highest-paid CB in 2020.
