Raiders News: Chris Harris Jr. Turned Down 3-Year Contract to Sign with Chargers

Cornerback Chris Harris Jr. preferred to be a Los Angeles Charger instead of a Las Vegas Raider, even if it meant a shorter contract.

After ESPN's Josina Anderson reported Harris said he picked the Chargers, the cornerback revealed to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver that he turned down a three-year offer from the Raiders for a two-year deal worth "$20 (mill) something" with Los Angeles.

"I liked the Chargers' defense," Harris said. "Bosa, Ingram, Casey Hayward, Derwin James, Desmond King. I like their secondary. I'll fit right in with those boys."

Harris spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Denver Broncos, amassing 20 interceptions and developing into a key playmaker in the secondary. While he did not go back to Denver, he made it clear choosing another AFC West team was not about revenge or the chance to play two head-to-head games per year.

"It didn't go down like that," he said, per Klis. "It was just most of the interest was from the AFC West or AFC. There wasn't any disrespect to Broncos."

Pro Football Focus gave Harris a solid but unspectacular 69.6 overall player grade during his final season with the Broncos, and he will be 31 years old during the 2020 campaign.

However, he made his fourth Pro Bowl as recently as 2018 and isn't far removed from his First Team All-Pro selection in 2016. He also helped lead the Broncos to the playoffs five straight seasons from 2011 through 2015, winning a Super Bowl in the final year of the playoff run.

He likely saw the Chargers as a more direct route back to the playoffs considering they were 12-4 as recently as 2018 and have the defensive pieces in place he mentioned. Comparatively, the Raiders have a mere one playoff appearance in 17 years.