Former Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. retires after 12 seasons in NFL
This week former Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. announced retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons.
Harris delivered his news on Tuesday, saying "I just want to official announce my retirement. Playing 12 years in the league, I'm definitely blessed from an undrafted... $2,000 signing bonus to play 12 years, I am definitely blessed."
He went on to thank his fans, former teammates, supporters, the other organizations he was a part of after Denver (the Chargers and Saints) and he also specifically thanked Broncos Country for an amazing career on and off the field.
"Especially to the Broncos fans, Broncos Country... was definitely an amazing place to play, to have my career there, play nine years and y'all have been so good to me and my family. I just want to thank y'all for all your support, especially in the community. Things that we do in the community, we still there, we still doing a lot of things, but you continue to support. So, I just want to thank you for that," said the four-time Pro-Bowler.
Harris also thanked Broncos legend John Elway for believing in him throughout his entire career with Denver.
"I gotta give a big thanks to John Elway. Elway was a guy who believed in me, took a chance on me, even though we had some ups and downs Elway was a guy that still took a chance on Chris Harris Jr. So, I just want to thank him and thank the Broncos," he said.
Harris joined the Broncos in 2011 from the University of Kansas and made a name for himself in the league as arguably the NFL's best slot cornerback and was key for the Broncos "No Fly Zone" secondary in 2016, which helped secure the Super Bowl 50 title.
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He was known around the league as "Strap Harris" for his reputation to lockdown receivers and excelled at the position by making memorable plays over the years at his stature of 5-foot-10, 199 pounds.
Harris was selected to the Pro-Bowl four times in his career and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2010s All-Decade team. From 2014-16, Harris made Second-Team All-Pro twice and landed on the First-Team in 2016.
For his career with the Broncos, he recorded 443 solo tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 20 interceptions, four touchdowns, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 4.5 sacks, and 10 QB hits.
