ENGLEWOOD — Once the Broncos handed Vance Joseph his walking papers Monday morning, cornerback Chris Harris Jr. started to wonder who’d be following his former coach out the door.
“I think everybody who won the Super Bowl (in 2016) is pretty much (on) a non-guaranteed contract now,” Harris said as he cleaned out his locker. “So I expect everybody to be gone, really. I expect to probably have two or three vets on the team and I think we’ll keep moving like that. That’s how I see it. I see it as a big rebuild coming on. I see a big tidal wave coming.”
The Broncos close the door on 2018 with at least 28 expiring contracts, a collective that includes offensive linemen Matt Paradis, Jared Veldheer, Billy Turner and Max Garcia; defensive linemen Shelby Harris, Domata Peko and Zach Kerr; cornerbacks Bradley Roby, Tramaine Brock and Jamar Taylor; and outside linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray.
The 29-year-old Harris is under contract through 2019. But the three-time Pro Bowl selection, whose season was ended by a broken fibula after 12 starts, remained coy as to his Broncos future.
“I mean, I want to win,” said Harris, who tied for the team lead in interceptions (three). “So whatever situation is best for me — at the same time, (we’ll) see the new coaches we get. The time is late in my career, that I can’t waste the years anymore. It’s time for me to win. I always wanted to retire here and finish my career here. But I’m waiting to see, I’m ready to see, what changes and things that we do.”
Harris is coming into the final season of a five-year, $42.5-million contract with a cap hit of $8.76 million in 2019, according to Spotrac.com. More than a third — 35.8 percent — of the Broncos’ projected cap space next season is tied up with four players: linebacker Von Miller ($25.1 million cap hit), quarterback Case Keenum ($21.0 million), wideout Emmanuel Sanders ($12.9 million) and defensive end Derek Wolfe ($10.9 million).
“(Joseph has) been instrumental in my growth as a leader and definitely as a player,” Miller said of his former coach. “It’s tough, especially when you build relationships and you’ve got to end them. It was tough. I’m excited about the future, though.”
The Broncos started five rookies in Joseph’s farewell, a 23-9 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers: Royce Freeman at tailback; Courtland Sutton and DeSean Hamilton at wide receiver; Bradley Chubb at outside linebacker; and Josey Jewell at inside linebacker.
“I thought he was a straight-to-it guy,” Jewell said of Joseph. “And I liked that a lot about him, (because) he was just a straight shooter.”
Harris shoots straight from the hip, too. And he said change at Dove Valley has been long overdue.
“I think, after the Super Bowl, we just kind of got stagnant. We haven’t evolved,” Harris said. “So we’ve got to figure out how we can evolve on offense, defense, special teams, everything … In terms of the NFL, we’re behind right now.
That evolution, to his mind, would include a veteran at the top, a head coach with experience running a team.
“I’d say (I’d prefer) a more experienced guy, a guy that’s really done it before, who’s already been a head coach,” Harris said. “Somebody who’s pretty much well-respected but has a lot of experience.”
