John Elway Tempers Chris Harris Talks, But Hasn't Considered Trading CB

By Zack Kelberman

DENVER (247 SPORTS) - The needle has not moved on stalled contract negotiations between the Denver Broncos and disgruntled Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris Jr. Broncos general manager John Elway, holding his annual pre-draft press conference Tuesday, re-affirmed that nothing has changed between the sides: His post-draft mandate still stands — with authority.

"We're going to talk about (the contract) after the draft," he said for the umpteeth time this offseason. "That doesn't mean we're going to do anything."

Harris has stayed away from the team's offseason program, which began April 2 with conditioning workouts and has since included three minicamp practices. They're all voluntary, as Elway reminded, and Denver's head honcho isn't upset with the star corner over his quote-unquote holdout.

"We appreciate all the other guys who are here because they don't have to be here," he said, via The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala. "I really appreciate them being here voluntarily."

So what can the mysterious delay in talks — a word Elway intentionally emphasized — be attributed to?

"I haven't had time," he said.

Harris has received the continued support of Broncos legends — current and former — who've stumped for him to be properly compensated following four Pro Bowl selections and three All-Pro honors. He's due "just" $7.8 million in base salary for 2019, the final year of his current deal.

There's a chance, albeit minor, that Harris never returns to the fold. The possibility exists that Elway set the artificial draft deadline because he's looking to trade the 30-year-old rather than pay him in excess of $12 million per season — at a minimum.

Elway splashed cold water on this notion.

"I haven't even thought about that," he said, via Jhabvala. "So, no. I haven't gotten there. Like I said, we'll talk about Chris' contract when the draft's over and see what they're looking for."

A smaller possibility exists that Harris simply waves the white flag and plays out the final year of his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency next offseason. Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, who hasn't spoken to Harris since the program kicked off, seemed apathetic toward his cause.

"It's just part of the NFL landscape," he said last week. "It seems to happen a little bit each year."

The secondary as a whole is being remodeled in Harris' absence, with CBs Bryce Callahan (foot) and Isaac Yiadom (shoulder) preemptively sidelined and free-agent addition Kareem Jackson exclusively operating at safety, per Fangio's wishes. Depth devolved to the point where Trey Johnson, a 2018 undrafted free agent whom Denver signed following a tryout, and De'Vante Bausy, an Alliance of American Football refugee, were seeing significant "reps" during skeletonized practices.

"We had a lot of guys there," Fangio said. "We had [De'Vante] Bausby and all the guys from last year. They got great work. We had some tryout guys in here in [Quinten] Rollins and Trey Johnson, and I think all the guys got great work. It's a little tougher in this setting here. You're not allowed to press, and we don't want the corners to bang up the receivers too much, but they all got great work."