Shelby Harris missed the Broncos’ Week 9 game after he landed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. But the veteran defensive lineman was out due to being a high-risk close contact. This week, he will be out because he tested positive for the coronavirus, Benjamin Allbright of KOA tweets.
The Broncos placed Harris on their reserve/COVID-19 list last week. He reported to the team his wife and children tested positive for the coronavirus last week, Mike Klis of 9News reports, but he did not receive word he had also tested positive until Wednesday morning. The Broncos quarantined Harris away from his family at a hotel last week; he did not travel to Atlanta for the team’s Week 9 game. He will miss at least Denver’s Week 10 game in Las Vegas.
Broncos defensive line coach Bill Kollar is not with the team due to contact tracing, per Klis, but the longtime Denver assistant has not tested positive (Twitter link). The Broncos have seen a few assistants miss time because of the virus, with running backs coach Curtis Modkins testing positive and O-line coach Mike Munchak and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell being sidelined for periods as well. GM John Elway tested positive last week.
After catching on with the Broncos in 2017, Harris re-signed with the team this offseason. The interior defender led the NFL in passes batted down last season and has eight QB hits this year. With Harris sidelined, the Broncos will be without each of their three starting D-linemen against the Raiders. Both Jurrell Casey and Mike Purcell are on IR.
Saw the uniform and was like, “Oh, no- ANOTHER Clemson guy?!”