Harris Is Officially In The Fold.
The Broncos are halfway to getting all their draft picks in camp in time for the team's first practice Sunday after announcing a contract agreement with 3rd Round pick(70 overall) Ryan Harris. Harris, a 4-year starter at Notre Dame, is projected to be the replacement at Left Tackle for Matt Lepsis when the vet decides to hang them up. he also provides some insurance should Lepsis struggle in his return from a knee injury suffered last season.
Mike Klis went on to give some specifics of the deal and what Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder can expect to get -
"It's something that's been hanging over the heads of all the draft picks, so it's just nice to have it official and finished before camp," Harris said. "No worries. Now, I've got to last."
A 6-foot-5, 292-pound native of the Twin Cities, Harris started his final 45 games at Notre Dame but is expected to spend his rookie season as an apprentice to Lepsis. Even right tackle George Foster, whom the Broncos selected with their first- round pick in the 2003 draft, played in only one game as a rookie and didn't get his first start until his second season.
The Broncos now have 50 percent of their 2007 draft class under contract, leaving defensive ends Jarvis Moss, a first-round pick from Florida, and Tim Crowder, a second-round selection from Texas, as their only unsigned rookies.
Moss, the draft's 17th pick, can expect a five-year contract worth between $11 million and $12.5 million with guarantees around $6.5 million. Crowder, the 56th pick, is negotiating in the four-year, $3 million range with guarantees of at least $1.5 million.
They are expected to be signed before the Broncos' first training camp session Sunday morning.
Earlier, the Broncos signed fourth-round pick Marcus Thomas, a defensive tackle from Florida, to an incentive-laden, four-year contract that included a $428,00 signing bonus.
The Broncos have only had one holdout - Tatum Bell - in the past 5 years and no one expects that to chance this season.