Shelby Harris Wants To Stay With Broncos
One of the Broncos’ better acquisitions in recent years, Shelby Harris is winding down his fourth season with the team. The veteran defensive tackle would prefer to extend this run.
Harris unexpectedly re-signed with the Broncos on a one-year deal this offseason, doing so after a market did not form for the talented interior defender. While the former seventh-round pick will again seek the first notable payday of his career, he would prefer that offer came from the Broncos.
“Obviously it would mean the world,” Harris said of another (presumably more lucrative) deal to stay with the Broncos, via the team’s website. “My family loves Denver; I love Denver, and Denver’s done nothing but do right by me since I’ve been here. I love it here, but at the end of the day I understand it’s a business and so you got to be ready for everything. … I’ve had two of my kids here; this is home for them. So obviously Denver is a special place for me.”
The Broncos brought back Harris on a one-year, $3.25MM contract. Despite missing four games due to a positive COVID-19 test, the 29-year-old defender has notched a career-high 11 quarterback hits this season. One of the NFL’s top bat-down artists, Harris has added seven pass deflections to give him 16 over the past two seasons.
While the Broncos hoped to have Harris and Jurrell Casey team up on this year’s defensive line, the latter suffered a season-ending injury in September. The Broncos are projected to have nearly $20MM in 2021 cap space and can create $11MM in additional funds by releasing the longtime Titans standout. Of course, the Broncos’ 2021 payroll does not yet include a Justin Simmons deal. Considering Harris’ 2020 market, he would appear to command a midlevel deal in a year when the cap is expected to decline. Losing both Harris and Casey would make the defensive front an obvious need area for the Broncos.
Rams Planning To Sign QB Blake Bortles
With Jared Goff being sidelined by a thumb injury, the Rams will be turning to a familiar face. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Los Angeles is planning to sign Blake Bortles off the Broncos practice squad.
However, this impending signing shouldn’t add any confusion to this weekend’s depth chart. The team announced that Goff is officially out in a crucial contest against the Cardinals, with John Wolford getting the start under center. Meanwhile, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic explains (on Twitter) that the Rams will likely promote Bryce Perkins from the practice squad, meaning they’ll temporarily be holding four quarterbacks (Goff, Wolford, Bortles, Perkins) on their active roster. One or two of these quarterbacks will likely land on the Rams practice squad once Goff is ready to return.
Following a disappointing five-year stint with the Jaguars, Bortles signed a one-year deal with the Rams during the 2019 offseason. He proceeded to appear in three games last season, completing a single three-yard pass. After going unsigned throughout the 2020 offseason, Bortles joined the Broncos in September following an injury to Drew Lock. He was eventually released by Denver and landed back on their practice squad.
In 78 career games, Bortles has completed 59.3-percent of his passes for 17,649 yards, 103 touchdowns, and 75 interceptions. The two quarterbacks currently ahead of him on the depth chart, Wolford and Perkins, have yet to appear in an NFL game.
Broncos To Retain Vic Fangio
The Broncos will not be one of the teams looking for a new head coach in 2021. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, Denver will bring back HC Vic Fangio for his third season with the team.
As the Broncos went 7-9 in 2019 and are just 5-9 this season, Fangio’s return was not a sure thing. But we had not heard any real speculation that his job could be in jeopardy, so Schefter’s report does not come as much of a surprise.
Fangio hardly fits the mold of the young, offensive genius that many teams are looking for in head coaches these days. The longtime defensive assistant was 60 when the Broncos hired him in January 2019, but as Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC tweets, he has strong relationships with GM John Elway and CEO Joe Ellis, and Schefter says the organization not only recognizes the importance of stability, it also believes in Fangio and respects his approach (though Broncos fans will rightfully tell you that he needs to improve his in-game decision-making).
The club feels that injuries to key players like Courtland Sutton and Von Miller, along with COVID-19 issues, have conspired to undermine Fangio in 2020. Plus, the quarterback situation has been far from ideal, as the Broncos have had to use six different QBs in the past two seasons, and 2019 second-rounder Drew Lock is still very much a work in progress.
Another losing season in 2021 will likely spell the end of Fangio’s tenure in Denver, but he will get at least one more shot to get the franchise moving in the right direction.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/26/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: OL Sean Harlow, WR Chris Rowland
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: CB Pierre Desir, QB Tyler Huntley
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: LB Clay Johnston, T Matt Kaskey
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: DB Xavier Crawford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from IR: CB Tony Brown
- Promoted: WR Trenton Irwin, LB Keandre Jones
- Waived: S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: C Javon Patterson
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: FB Sewo Olonilua
- Placed on IR: DT Antwaun Woods
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB LeVante Bellamy
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: DL Brian Price, RB Dexter Williams
Houston Texans
- Promoted: Steven Mitchell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: CB Quenton Meeks, FB Bruce Miller, RB Craig Reynolds
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: CB Deandre Baker, LB Omari Cobb, WR Gehrig Dieter, OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms
- Placed on IR: CB Sidney Jones
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from IR: DT Maliek Collins
- Promoted: CB Rashaan Gaulden, LB James Onwualu, DB Javin White
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: DE Joe Gaziano, TE Matt Sokol
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: OL Jamil Demby, S JuJu Hughes
New England Patriots
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jordan Thomas
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: RB La’Mical Perine
- Promoted: LB Noah Dawkins, LB Sharif Finch, LB Brady Sheldon
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: RB Jordan Howard, DT T.Y. McGill, DE Joe Ostman, TE Caleb Wilson
- Placed on IR: CB Kevon Seymour, DE Josh Sweat
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: LB Tegray Scales, K Matthew Wright
- Waived: OL Derwin Gray
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: DL Bryan Mone
- Promoted: WR Penny Hart
- Placed on IR: G Phil Haynes
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: LB Brooks Reed
Washington Football Team
- Activated from IR: WR Antonio Gandy-Golden
- Promoted: QB Steven Montez
- Waived: WR Dontrelle Inman
Broncos To Place Phillip Lindsay On IR
Ruled out for the Broncos’ Week 16 game, Phillip Lindsay will be shut down for the team’s final two contests. The Broncos are placing the two-time 1,000-yard rusher on IR, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
Knee and hip trouble will shelve Lindsay, whose status in Denver changed in 2020. The Broncos will also have a decision to make regarding the former Pro Bowl back in the offseason.
Lindsay went from being the team’s clear-cut No. 1 option to sharing time with pricey free agent acquisition Melvin Gordon. While Lindsay outproduced Gordon on a per-carry basis for much of the season, he has not been as successful as of late. The 26-year-old back failed to top 40 rushing yards in each of the past four Broncos games. He will wrap the season with 502 yards — at least 500 worse than either of his first two NFL slates — and just one touchdown. Injury issues also limited Lindsay to 11 games; he previously battled turf toe. Gordon has gained 802 rushing yards in 13 contests.
A former UDFA out of Colorado, Lindsay will be a restricted free agent come March. The Broncos already have Gordon signed to a two-year, $16MM deal. It will be interesting to see how they navigate the Lindsay situation next year. The team was discussing an extension with the hometown product prior to Gordon’s agreement. Those talks cooled following the ex-first-round pick’s arrival.
While Gordon is expected to receive a 2021 suspension for a recent DUI arrest — and such a ban would void the ex-Charger’s 2021 guarantees — the Broncos have Royce Freeman under contract next year. And Lindsay’s past production (2,048 rushing yards, 16 TDs from 2018-19) figures to generate interest on the market, depending on his tender status. The Broncos gave C.J. Anderson an original-round tender in 2016, leading to a Dolphins offer sheet. Denver matched it and used Anderson as its starter for two more seasons, prior to Lindsay’s 2018 arrival.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/20
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: K Brandon McManus
Detroit Lions
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Everson Griffen
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: T Tytus Howard
- Promoted: DL Auzoyah Alufohai
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on reserve/left-squad list: LB Kamalei Correa
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Isaiah Johnson
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Nick Kwiatkoski
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on IR: LB Kyzir White
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Myles Gaskin
New York Jets
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Ryan Griffin
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Vince Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Trent Taylor
Broncos To Waive LB Mark Barron
The Broncos’ late-summer signing of Mark Barron produced only several weeks’ worth of rehab and practice time, and the team will move on from the former starting linebacker.
Denver will waive Barron to clear a roster spot for cornerback Parnell Motley, according to 9News’ Mike Klis (on Twitter). The Broncos are reeling at corner, and Barron did not make an impact with his fourth NFL team.
Although the Broncos activated Barron from IR in late November, he did not play a snap for the team. Barron signed with Denver — on a one-year deal worth $2.5MM — in the offseason, with the franchise hoping he could play a sub-package role to help out Josey Jewell. But the latter has played well this season, alongside Alexander Johnson as a three-down player, leaving Barron on the sidelines.
Hamstring and pectoral injuries felled the former Buccaneers, Rams and Steelers defender this year. Barron, 31, suffered a hamstring injury before the season, leading him to IR. He remained there longer than expected because of a subsequent pec ailment.
Both the Broncos and Steelers ended up cutting Barron in 2020. The Rams made him a cap casualty in 2019. The former first-round pick converted from safety to linebacker and from 2015-18 with the Rams, and the Steelers used him frequently last season.
Broncos To Target Veteran QB In 2021?
- Drew Lock has shown some potential as a long-term answer this season — including last week in Charlotte — but ranks 28th in QBR and has thrown 13 INTs in 10 games. The Broncos sat out this year’s veteran QB market, but Troy Renck of Denver7 notes the team is likely to bring in a veteran to compete with Lock (or potentially replace him) next year. A similar batch of vets — Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, Jameis Winston — on track to be available again would qualify as competition, and the Broncos were also high on Sam Darnold in 2018. A trade for Matthew Stafford, a scenario Renck mentions, would be to replace Lock. The Broncos have used four different Week 1 starting QBs since Peyton Manning‘s retirement, moving from Trevor Siemian to Case Keenum to Joe Flacco to Lock.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/20
Here are today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: C Jonotthan Harrison
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: K Taylor Russolino, LB Josh Watson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Daryl Worley
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Bobby Evans, S Nick Scott
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Jamal Perry
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: RT Jack Driscoll, CB Avonte Maddox
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: K Greg Joseph, OL Ted Larsen
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/20
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Miles Boykin, WR Marquise Brown, WR James Proche; the trio did not test positive for the coronavirus and would be eligible to return Sunday
Denver Broncos
- Signed off 49ers’ practice squad: CB Parnell Motley
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Jeff Driskel
- Placed on IR: CB Kevin Toliver
Houston Texans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB David Johnson
- Placed on IR: DT Brandon Dunn, S Justin Reid (story)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Tre Herndon
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Matt Breida
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: S Saquan Hamilton
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: S Elijah Riley
- Placed on IR: S Rodney McLeod (story)