ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On second thought, Chris Harris Jr. decided to retire as a Bronco after all.
Harris, the unquestioned best nickel defensive back in team history and one of its best corners, period, announced in March that he was retiring following a 12-year NFL career, the first 9 seasons of which were with the Broncos.
At the time, Harris said he wasn’t worried about having a news conference to officially announce his retirement as a Bronco.
But the team wanted to honor him and Harris, along with his wife Leah and five daughters, were brought in to attend the Broncos’ practice Saturday. He later signed a decree that informed the NFL he had retired as a member of the team that gave him his start with a $2,000 signing bonus as an undrafted rookie during the lockout season of 2011.
"We had a talk, my wife and I and the Broncos about retiring a Bronco and everything came together,'' Harris said Saturday in an interview with 9NEWS. "I felt like it would be a great way to close the chapter. We started out great and we ended great."
Harris will be recognized on the field Sunday when the Broncos meet the Los Angeles Chargers, his team for two years after he left Denver as a free agent, at Empower Field at Mile High.
During his 9 seasons with the Broncos, Harris earned four Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro distinctions. He was part of two AFC Championship teams and in 2015 was a key player in the 'No Fly Zone' defense that helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50. Harris was later named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team as a cornerback, primarily for his work as a slot corner, in the 2010s.
Harris and Von Miller were the only two Broncos who were named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team. While Miller is a cinch to one day be elected into the team’s Ring of Fame, Harris will also be up for discussion for election into the Broncos’ immortal group.
“I think the All-Decade is a pretty good selling point right there,’’ Harris told 9NEWS upon his retirement in the spring.
Tenacious, tough, quick and instinctive, Harris had the nickname, "Strap," because of his close coverage on quick slot receivers and big tight ends, alike. He was also a strong tackler in the run game. All the traits, in other words, teams want in its nickel corners.
Harris was a quintessential underdog story. At Kansas, he was a starting freshman cornerback with Aqib Talib an All-American junior playing corner on the other side. The Jayhawks went 12-1 that year and were ranked No. 2 in the country before losing a closely-fought Big 12 Championship Game to Missouri.
But in Harris’ senior year, he was moved to safety by new head coach Turner Gill. At 5-foot-10, 198 pounds, Harris was considered a tad small by NFL safety standards and went undrafted. His agent Fredrick Lyles worked to get him hooked up with the Broncos as an undrafted cornerback.
As the story goes, then Broncos scout Dave Ziegler peeked into head coach John Fox’s office after the 2011 draft and asked which of two undrafted corners he wanted to sign: The extremely fast corner, or the corner who was smart but not quite as fast. Fox said he wanted the smart one.
Harris was a Bronco.
There was no offseason program during that lock out season of 2011 but Harris made the season-opening, 53-man roster as a relentlessly competitive rookie special teamer and part-time corner.
In 2012 – Peyton Manning’s first season with the Broncos – Denver started 2-3 on the season and trailed its AFC West-rival San Diego Chargers, 24-0 at halftime, in game 6. Harris, subbing for starter Tracy Porter who was out because of seizure complications, clinched a 35-24 comeback win with a 46-yard pick six off Philip Rivers.
"I had to scratch and claw for everything my whole life,'' Harris said. "High school, I only had one offer. College, I didn't have anyone pushing for me and I went undrafted. Then I got to the league and had to fight it out every day."
Harris and his wife Leah live in the Dallas area with their daughters Aria, Avianna, Laliyah, Amaris and Amiyah.
"It was great to come back and see the guys,'' Harris said. "Walked around the facility, talked to some of my old teammates. Talked to the secondary guys. It was just great seeing everybody again."
