COVID-19 Protocol Prevents Shelby Harris From Traveling With Broncos to Atlanta

The Broncos will be without Shelby Harris in Week 9, even though he's completely healthy.

On September 14, the Denver Broncos' starting defensive line consisted of Jurrell Casey, Mike Purcell, and Shelby Harris. Fast forward to Week 9, and the Broncos will field a defense with zero day-one starters in the lineup. 

Both Casey and Purcell are on season-ending injured reserve but Harris — well, he's completely healthy. And yet, Harris did not travel with the Broncos to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. 

The reason why? The COVID-19 protocol. Harris has not tested positive for the virus, but on Tuesday, he notified the Broncos that he had been exposed to a person away from the team headquarters who was infected, thus relegating him into the self-isolation protocol of the NFL's COVID-19 measures. 

I was hopeful when the news broke that Harris would have to self-isolate that enough sand would be left in the hour-glass for him to make it out of the COVID-19 protocol, provided he didn't test positive in the interim. Alas, he did not travel with the team and won't be available to play, according to 9NEWS' Mike Klis on Saturday. 

Shelby Harris is staying back as Broncos leave for ATL. He’s healthy but give him credit for selfless act of putting team’s health above own interests. Looks like pass deflections/sacks will have to come elsewhere. #9sports

— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) November 7, 2020

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For Harris' part, he did the right thing for his team, notifying them of the potential risk to the locker room. But it also had the inadvertent effect of costing him his Week 9 availability and the team a starter on the defensive line. 

Not gonna lie this being in the hotel away from your family stuff is lonely as hell

— Shelby Harris (@ShelbyHarris93) November 6, 2020

Such is the nature of the COVID world we're all living in right now. The Broncos will have to figure out how to get by without him on the D-line. 

The onus falls to Dre'Mont Jones and DeMarcus Walker — both of whom are good, young interior pass rushers, but stuffing the run is not their forte. Week 9 will have to be the watershed moment where one of them steps their game up against the run, if not both. 

Harris wasn't a great run-stuffing nose tackle when Vic Fangio plugged him in there to start the 2019 season. After four weeks of seeing Harris get blown off the ball and struggling to hold the point of attack as the pivot, Fangio kicked Harris outside to defensive end, where he belongs, and the move paid dividends. 

Purcell entered as a starter at nose tackle, which coincided with Alexander Johnson becoming a starter at inside linebacker. And the Broncos were off and running. 

Situations like these often present a silver lining result, giving players deeper down the depth chart the opportunity to step in and shine with the lights on. Jones and Walker bear the biggest brunt, but arguably the biggest opportunity with Harris out this week falls to rookie McTelvin Agim. 

Known as 'Sosa' in the locker room, Agim is likely to dress this week and will be tapped to help the Broncos' D-line hold up against Atlanta's Todd Gurley. Will Week 9's bout sans Harris result in the serendipitous emergence of a heretofore unknown Bronco sowing his oats? 

Only time will tell. But after giving up 200-plus rushing yards last week to the Chargers, with Harris in the lineup, going into Atlanta without the starter on the D-line isn't a great harbinger. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.