JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars continued their roster purge Thursday by agreeing to trade safety Ronnie Harrison to the Cleveland Browns for a 2021 fifth-round draft pick, the team announced Thursday.
Harrison is the third Jaguars starter in five days to be traded or cut. The team traded disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota on Sunday and waived running back Leonard Fournette on Monday.
The Browns were in need of a safety following the season-ending injury to second-round draft pick Grant Delpit, who ruptured an Achilles tendon in training camp on Aug. 24.
Harrison is the third player drafted in the top three rounds since 2016 to be cut or traded by the Jaguars before finishing his rookie contract. Fournette and cornerback Jalen Ramsey (traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2019) are the others; Ngakoue was traded after his fourth season.
Harrison has started 22 of the 28 games in which he played for the Jaguars since they drafted him in the third round out of Alabama in 2018. He has three interceptions, one fumble recovery and 103 tackles.
Harrison is the fourth defensive starter to be traded since the 2019 season ended, further fueling the narrative that the Jaguars are angling for a better position in the 2021 NFL draft, with the potential prize being Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
The Jaguars dealt defensive end Calais Campbell to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick and cornerback A.J. Bouye to Denver for a fourth-round pick in March. Both players had big salaries and the Jaguars saved more than $30 million against the salary cap with those moves.
ESPN’s Jake Trotter contributed to this report.
