Part of the Russell Wilson trade, Shelby Harris spent the past three seasons in Cleveland following a Seattle one-off. The former Broncos defensive line mainstay is interested in playing an age-35 season, and he may be closing in on a destination.
Harris has a Giants meeting set up for today, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo notes. The Giants are interested in adding interior D-line help, according to the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, and Harris brings considerable experience as an 11-year veteran.
The Browns used Harris as a 25-game starter during Jim Schwartz‘s three-year DC run; while he came up as a trade candidate at last year’s deadline, the Browns did not move on. Pro Football Focus graded Harris 56th among interior D-linemen last season (out of 127 qualified options).
Harris also made an impact with the Broncos before being included in the 2022 Wilson blockbuster. Denver traded five draft picks to Seattle for the declining quarterback — who later made what will almost definitely be a one-and-done Giants stop — but included Harris, Drew Lock and Noah Fant in the deal. Harris has made a New York stopover previously, but his three-month Jets stay in 2016 did not produce any game action.
The Myles Garrett wingman combined for 18 tackles for loss from 2023-25. While Harris only registered four sacks in that time, he was a more disruptive pass-rushing presence in Denver. The former seventh-round pick tallied at least 5.5 sacks in three of his five Broncos seasons, totaling six apiece in 2019 and 2021. Harris is also among this NFL period’s best at re-routing passes up front; his 40 pass deflections trail only Cameron Heyward (46) among D-linemen since 2017.
The Broncos gave Harris a three-year, $27MM deal to re-sign him as a free agent in 2021 but ended up including that deal to sweeten their Wilson offer. After playing out a two-year, $9MM pact in Cleveland, Harris would stand to be an affordable option for a Giants team looking for help alongside Dexter Lawrence.
Neither Rakeem Nunez-Roches nor D.J. Davidson has re-signed with the Giants; both former Lawrence sidekicks remain free agents. The Giants used a third-round pick on interior D-lineman Darius Alexander last year, and Roy Robertson-Harris is signed for one more season. The team added Sam Roberts as a depth option Monday, but the four-year veteran has maxed out at 102 defensive snaps in a season.