Browns reportedly keeping S Ronnie Harrison Jr.

Cleveland retains the veteran on a one-year deal as the third member of the defense’s group of safeties.

The Cleveland Browns are keeping the third member of their safety group as the club reportedly re-signed Ronnie Harrison Jr. on Friday.

It is a one-year deal for the veteran, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Harrison has spent the past two seasons with the Browns after being acquired just before the start of the 2020 season from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fifth-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. The move was necessary after rookie safety Grant Delpit was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon injury suffered in training camp.

Harrison has had a rocky go of it with the Browns as he has appeared in just 23 games with Cleveland, making 18 starts, while dealing with injuries and a stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list at the end of the 2020 regular season.

In addition, he was ejected from Cleveland’s Week 1 game against the Kansas City Chiefs after getting into a brief dustup with Kansas City’s assistant coach Greg Lewis, and was benched for the start of the Week 11 game against the Detroit Lions for undisclosed disciplinary reasons.

Harrison struggled last season as he allowed six touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 113 when targeted in coverage, which help contribute to a pass coverage grade of just 54.5 from Pro Football Focus. He was decent against the run, however, as he posted the team’s top run defense grade at 78.3.

With Delpit coming off a solid first season at one safety spot and John Johnson III looking to rebound from a rough first season with the Browns after signing as a free agent, Harrison will need to keep up his solid run defense, and hopefully work on that pass defense, to keep earning playing time in defensive coordinator Joe Woods’ defense.

All told with the Browns, Harrison has 96 tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.