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Name: Chris Lewis-Harris
Position: CB
Height: 5’10" Weight: 185 lbs
Age: 28 Experience: 7th
College: Tennessee-Chattanooga
For a guy who has never grabbed a starting cornerback job in the NFL, Lewis-Harris has had solid staying power in the league over his seven NFL seasons. He has been that reliable reserve cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals up until the middle of last season.
He was viewed as a guy who would never be outstanding, but can be expected to be steady and reliable in that reserve role.
The Good
Despite not being a starter, he has been able to step into the starter role due to injury and not choke away a game. Such as this big play in the 2015 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers while covering Markus Wheaton on a go route.
The Bad
Once Vance Joseph left Cincinnati for the Miami Dolphins, Lewis-Harris saw his play dro precipitously and was cut by the Bengals in the middle of that first year Joseph was gone.
The fact that the Denver Broncos signed him immediately after waiving Taureen Nixon shows you that Joseph still believes in this guy, which matters.
Quotable
Our friends at Cincy Jungle broke down his career with the team last off season and have this really interesting quote about Lewis-Harris in there.
"Since I’ve been here, all I can say is great things about him," Coyle said via the Cincinnati Enquirer. "He’s reliable, he’s dependable, he’s a team guy. He’s coachable. Competes every day. Doesn’t have a lot to say, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. He’s quiet, confident and aggressive. He’ll fight. Right now, the younger guys haven’t earned spots to go ahead of somebody like that. We’re three days into training camp so I wouldn’t put too much stock into that but I would not necessarily say it’s not indicative of how well Chris has done since I’ve been here. He’s done very well."
Status
Frankly, I don’t see how he makes the team outside of an injury to someone above him on the depth chart. At cornerback, I think the Broncos keep Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib, Bradley Roby, Brenden Langley, and Lorenzo Doss. That doesn’t leave much room for Lewis-Harris on the roster, unless he somehow overtakes one of the youngsters behind the No Fly Zone starters.
He is a solid veteran presence on the team through training camp and being a veteran could give him a leg up over a guy like Doss. We’ll just have to wait and see.