The Denver Broncos are preparing for a significant challenge in Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, but star cornerback Chris Harris Jr. isn’t a lock to play on Sunday.
During an appearance on ESPN’s NFL Insiders, Broncos general manager John Elway said Harris is a game-time decision for the AFC Championship.
Broncos EVP/GM John Elway said on ESPN's NFL Insiders that CB Chris Harris and his shoulder injury will be "game-time decision" for Sunday.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2016
Harris has battled through a shoulder injury for a couple weeks, and it flared up in a major way during the Divisional Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post, Harris said he “played with one arm the whole game.” The cornerback appeared in 75 percent of snaps but spent most of his time at nickelback rather than his regular place on the outside.
The Broncos knocked off New England during Week 12 of the regular season, but the Patriots were without both Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola for that matchup. Looking at it from that perspective, the obvious criticism is Denver still needed overtime to win.
Now, Harris, Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby only allowed a combined either receptions for 57 yards. The Edelman-Amendola combination figures to change that, especially if Harris is injured.
Denver could stick him on Brandon LaFell or whomever else is the No. 3 Patriots receiver, a matchup Harris would likely win while playing with one good arm. But that would leave Roby on Edelman or Amendola, which is not ideal.
Long story short? The Broncos need an as-close-to-healthy-as-possible Harris. Otherwise, Brady will have a mismatch to exploit.