The future bodyguard to Jay Cutler’s blind side has been secured.
The Broncos finalized a four-year agreement Tuesday with third-round draft pick Ryan Harris, a left tackle from Notre Dame and heir apparent to veteran Matt Lepsis. University of Colorado alumnus Lepsis returns for his 11th season with the Broncos, and ninth as a starter.
But with Lepsis, 33, coming off knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the Broncos made Harris the No. 70 pick of the 2007 draft.
His first professional contract with the Broncos includes a guaranteed signing bonus of $805,000.
“It’s something that’s been hanging over the heads of all the draft picks, so it’s just nice to have it official and finished before camp,” Harris said. “No worries. Now, I’ve got to last.”
A 6-foot-5, 292-pound native of the Twin Cities, Harris started his final 45 games at Notre Dame but is expected to spend his rookie season as an apprentice to Lepsis. Even right tackle George Foster, whom the Broncos selected with their first- round pick in the 2003 draft, played in only one game as a rookie and didn’t get his first start until his second season.
The Broncos now have 50 percent of their 2007 draft class under contract, leaving defensive ends Jarvis Moss, a first-round pick from Florida, and Tim Crowder, a second-round selection from Texas, as their only unsigned rookies.
Moss, the draft’s 17th pick, can expect a five-year contract worth between $11 million and $12.5 million with guarantees around $6.5 million. Crowder, the 56th pick, is negotiating in the four-year, $3 million range with guarantees of at least $1.5 million.
They are expected to be signed before the Broncos’ first training camp session Sunday morning.
Earlier, the Broncos signed fourth-round pick Marcus Thomas, a defensive tackle from Florida, to an incentive-laden, four-year contract that included a $428,00 signing bonus.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
