Getty Defensive tackle Shelby Harris, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, has officially joined the Cleveland Browns for the 2023 regular season.
The Green Bay Packers lack depth on a defensive front that will need to play expertly for the team to succeed next season, meaning an addition may be coming soon.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report on Wednesday, July 12, listed Green Bay’s defensive interior as one of the units most in need of reinforcements, and the argument is reasonable. Defensive end Dean Lowry skipped town for a better offer from the Minnesota Vikings after seven years in green and gold, while defensive tackle Jarran Reed bolted for the Seattle Seahawks. Second-year man Devonte Wyatt is now likely to step into a starting role after playing just 23% of the team’s defensive snaps during his rookie campaign.
The Packers have three legitimate starters on the D-line, but after that experience within the unit plunges off a cliff. One of the best remaining answers to address that deficiency is Shelby Harris, formerly of the Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.
Shelby Harris Can Offer Packers Much-Need D-Line Depth
GettyFormer Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Shelby Harris can offer the Green Bay Packers depth along the defensive interior.
Ballentine bemoaned the Packers’ lack of depth on the inside before listing Shelby as among the best options remaining in free agency.
“Kenny Clark is the start on the interior, Devonte Wyatt has the ability to make a big jump in Year 2 and T.J. Slaton is an ideal nose tackle. After that, things get a little dicey,” Ballentine wrote. “None of the other options on the roster played a single snap for the Packers last season.”
Green Bay can turn to versatile edge rusher Lukas Van Ness to bolster the D-line, though he also has yet to play a single snap in a regular season NFL game.
“Even if you tab first-round pick Lukas Van Ness to kick inside and absorb some of the snaps, there’s just not a lot of proven depth,” Ballentine continued. “There are some intriguing veterans on the free agent market. Shelby Harris has a long track record of proven production and Chris Wormley is a year removed from a seven-sack season.”
Shelby Harris May Want More Money Than Packers Can Offer
GettyFormer Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Shelby Harris remains a free agent as training camps approach.
Harris has started all 58 games he has played over the last four seasons for a couple of the more renowned defensive units in the league.
He finished last season in Seattle with 44 tackles, including five tackles for loss, eight quarterback pressures, six QB hits, four pass breakups and two sacks, per Pro Football Reference. The DT was even better against opposing ground games, earning a run defense grade of 76.9 and an overall player grade of 73.2, per Pro Football Focus.
The downside of a potential Harris signing is that he will play next season, his 10th in the NFL, at 32 years old. The former seventh-round pick signed a three-year, $27 million contract extension ($9 million annually) with Denver in 2021. Harris played out two years of that deal before the Seahawks released him in March in the interest of clearing $8.94 million in salary cap space.
Several defensive tackles across the league have gotten the bag this offseason, signing massive multiyear deals. While Harris is beyond the age where he can expect a similar contract, he has played at a consistently high level over the last several years. That might explain why he remains a free agent, as he searches for the most lucrative agreement possible at a position teams are clearly beginning to value more highly.
The Packers had roughly $14.3 million in remaining cap space as of Friday.