CLEVELAND — With the start of the 2020 NFL season nearly a week away, the Cleveland Browns have filled one of their biggest needs, acquiring safety Ronnie Harrison in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In exchange for Harrison, the Browns sent the Jaguars a 2021 fifth-round draft pick.
Heading into next week's opener against the Baltimore Ravens, safety stood out as one of the most glaring holes on Cleveland's depth chart. Earlier in training camp, 2020 second-round pick Grant Delpit suffered a torn Achilles injury, which is expected to cost the 2019 Jim Thorpe Award winner the entirety of his rookie year.
Selected out of Alabama in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Harrison has appeared in 28 games, including 22 starts, in his first two years in Jacksonville. Playing in 14 games (all starts) in 2019, the 2017 All-SEC selection tallied 71 tackles, 9 pass defenses, 2 interceptions and 2 sacks.
The 23-year-old Harrison marks the third starter that the rebuilding Jaguars have parted ways with in the past week. Earlier this week, Jacksonville traded defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Minnesota Vikings, while on Tuesday, the Jaguars released running back and 2017 first-round pick Leonard Fournette.
As for his future in Cleveland, Harrison could factor in as a long-term fixture on the Browns defense. For now, he'll likely slide into a starting safety spot in a Cleveland secondary that also includes Karl Joseph, Andrew Sendejo and Sheldrick Redwine at the safety position.