Ronnie Harrison on Trade to Browns: I'm 'So Relieved' to Have Left Jaguars

With fall right around the corner, people usually look forward to leaving Ohio behind for the more comfortable surroundings of Florida, not the other way around. Those people don't have to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars traded third-year safety Ronnie Harrison to the Cleveland Browns for a 2021 fifth-round pick last week. Harrison appears very happy to be heading north:

The Jaguars reached the AFC Championship Game during the 2017 season and led the New England Patriots until the final three minutes of the game. Since then, the front office has systematically dismantled what was one of the NFL's best defenses.

General manager David Caldwell told reporters Saturday the franchise "can't afford a rebuilding year," but the team isn't exactly being subtle about its aims.

Trading Harrison and Yannick Ngakoue while letting Gardner Minshew II run the offense aren't the moves of a team with playoff aspirations in 2020.

Caldwell's comments echo those of Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores when he said in September 2019 the Dolphins weren't throwing in the towel with an eye toward the future. Later that month, Miami traded Minkah Fitzpatrick, who became an All-Pro with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There's a level of irony in Harrison signaling his enthusiasm to play for the Browns, who haven't made the postseason since 2002.

But Cleveland unquestionably has higher expectations for the upcoming year. The franchise just gave Myles Garrett a five-year, $125 million extension, and its biggest offseason moves—hiring Kevin Stefanski, signing Austin Hooper and Jack Conklin, and selecting Jedrick Wills Jr.—were about helping Baker Mayfield after an underwhelming 2019.

Football careers are generally shorter compared to other sports, and NFL contracts aren't fully guaranteed. As a result, it can be difficult to sell players on contributing to a losing team, even if it's only for a season.

Maybe the Jaguars will prove to have a brighter long-term outlook than the Browns. In the short term, going from Jacksonville to Cleveland was an obvious upgrade for Harrison.