Tag: Ronnie Harrison

Colts release DE Titus Leo to make room on practice squad for Ronnie Harrison

To make room on the practice squad for Ronnie Harrison, the Indianapolis Colts released DE Titus Leo.

The Indianapolis Colts announced that they signed safety Ronnie Harrison to the practice squad. In order to make room for Harrison, the Colts released defensive end Titus Leo as the corresponding roster move.

Related: Colts bolster safety depth, sign Ronnie Harrison

Leo was a sixth-round selection by the Colts in the 2023 NFL draft out of small-school Wagner, where he was highly productive during his final two seasons, posting 71 pressures and 10 sacks.

Leo would unfortunately miss his entire rookie season after being placed on season-ending IR following an injury in the Colts’ final preseason game of 2023.

He was with the Colts all offseason and for training camp. Leo only appeared in one preseason game, however, playing 34 defensive snaps in the opener against Denver. According to PFF, Leo made four tackles and had no pressures.

With the depth at safety quite thin for the Colts, an addition at some point felt like a near must, especially with the cornerback depth currently being put to the test already.

Defensive end, on the other hand, is a position of strength for the Colts–both in play and in numbers–which I imagine played a factor in their decision to release Leo.

The Colts still have five defensive ends on the 53-man roster and Genard Avery on the practice squad.

Colts bolster safety depth, signing Ronnie Harrison to practice squad

The Colts bolster their safety depth, a move that needed to happen, by signing Ronnie Harrison to the practice squad.

In addition to signing cornerback Kelvin Joseph to the practice squad, the Indianapolis Colts also announced that they signed safety Ronnie Harrison to the practice squad as well.

Harrison, of course, spent the second half of the 2023 season on the Colts’ 53-man roster, playing 234 defensive snaps down the stretch. He was with the team all through this summer’s training camp and the preseason.

The Colts would transition Harrison from the safety position to linebacker last season, however, with the uncertainty at safety during this year’s draft training camp, Harrison moved back to that role.

Harrison initially even saw some snaps at free safety before settling back in at strong safety where he’s played the bulk of his career.

Harrison was released during roster cutdowns, which did come as a bit of a surprise, given the Colts’ lack of depth at the position. He has remain unsigned since then.

Harrison appeared in all three preseason games, playing 68 defensive snaps while making six tackles and allowing four completions on six targets for only 16 yards.

I actually thought that this move would have happened much sooner–like right after roster cuts. The safety position, much like cornerback, has it’s question marks this season and is extremely thin.

Before signing Harrison to the practice squad, the only safeties on the roster were Julian Blackmon, Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas, and Trevor Denbow. Marcel Dabo, who has no regular season snaps, was the only safety on the practice squad.

While Cross has trained at strong safety this summer, of those four safeties, Blackmon is the only strong safety on the depth chart. If any injury happened, the Colts would have very limited options. The addition of Harrison at least bolsters the depth a bit.

To make room for Harrison on the practice squad, the Colts released defensive end Titus Leo.

Colts announced they released safety Ronnie Harrison

As part of roster cut downs, the Colts announced that they released safety Ronnie Harrison. Here is what you need to know.

Roster cutdowns have started for the Indianapolis Colts and of note, they’ve released veteran safety Ronnie Harrison, the team announced.

After making the transition to linebacker last season, Harrison would spend this training camp back at safety, where he spent his career playing up until 2023.

In an effort to create competition at the position, the Colts even had Harrison playing some free safety early on in training camp, despite Harrison primarily playing strong safety in his career.

By the end of camp, Harrison was spending his time at strong safety behind Julian Blackmon—although he still may have been the third option on the depth chart with Nick Cross rotating in at strong safety with Blackmon then moving to free safety.

As a veteran, Harrison will not go on waivers. Instead, he will have the opportunity to join another team but can return to the Colts’ practice squad.

This is an instance where the Colts are likely prioritizing another position on the roster where they are going to go heavy from a roster numbers perspective, requiring them to then go light elsewhere for the roster math to workout.

When it comes to these back end of the roster roles, teams will often prioritize younger players with higher upside and potential over a veteran presence.

Also, Harrison’s role on special teams, since that’s where the majority of his snaps may have been coming from, could have been another factor in this decision.

Colts’ training camp: Where does FS battle stand after 5 practices?

It’s only been five training camp practices, but there remain more questions than answers for the Colts at free safety.

The Colts have five training camp practices under their belt, and the competition at free safety still has way more questions than answers.

During OTAs and minicamp, it was Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas both working with the first team defense. But during training camp, in a bit of a surprise, after the Colts moved Ronnie Harrison from safety to linebacker last season, he was thrown into the mix at free safety.

Making that move even more head-scratching is that in recent years, even when playing the safety position, Harrison has been a strong safety, not a free safety.

“Well, for us, when Ronnie gets in there,” said Gus Bradley on Saturday, “it seems like something good happens, whether he’s playing linebacker, he’s playing strong safety, and so we thought, you know what, we’ve got this competition going on back there.

“I mean, something good does happen, let’s take a look at it. Does he have the skill set needed to play that and give him an opportunity to compete with the rest of them.”

After a handful of practices, Stephen Holder, who covers the Colts for ESPN, would say after Wednesday’s practice that the “situation at free safety right now is curious, at best.”

James Boyd, who covers the Colts for The Athletic, would say that free safety is his “most concerning thing” up to this point in training camp.

Who is going to win the starting job still remains unclear–although there is certainly still time for that to be worked out.

However, there does seem to be a pecking order that is beginning to take place with Boyd also adding that Cross and Harrison are rotating reps with the starters while Thomas appears to be the third option.

“It’s been good,” said Bradley after Wednesday’s practice about the free safety battle. “I think that was one of the positions we looked at yesterday and started to see some flashes where that execution part is there.

“So now, when you see them play with good execution, you can kind of judge their speed then. They’re not thinking as much. We still got some work to do there as far as our evaluation goes, but it’s going in the right direction.”

Inconsistent play at the safety position was a contributing factor to the number of big plays surrendered in the passing game last season. Looking ahead to the Colts’ first few games of the season, they begin the year facing CJ Stroud and Jordan Love.

When speaking with reporters before camp began, GM Chris Ballard didn’t rule out adding to the position group, but he said that he first wants to see how the competition at safety unfolds first, which could even extend into the season.

“We like our young players,” said Ballard. “I’m not saying we won’t do something. We definitely could. But I want to see these young guys get after it and compete.”

Colts’ GM Chris Ballard mentions Ronnie Harrison when discussing safety competition

When discussing the upcoming safety competition, Colts’ GM Chris Ballard mentioned Ronnie Harrison.

One of the more important training camp battles that will take place this summer for the Colts is at the safety position.

While from the outside looking in it appears to be a two-man race between Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas, GM Chris Ballard mentioned another name to keep our eyes on as training camp unfolds: Ronnie Harrison.

“Harrison played good ball for us too last year and we played him both at linebacker and safety, and he started at safety in this league, a bunch of games, and played good football,” said Ballard on Wednesday when discussing the safety position.

The Colts didn’t sign Harrison until last summer, and although he had spent his career up to that point playing safety in the NFL, where he started 45 games, during training camp, the team made the decision to transition Harrison to linebacker.

Harrison would begin the 2023 season on the practice squad learning his new position, but was signed to the active roster and became the Colts’ Will linebacker with his coverage abilities when the team moved on from Shaq Leonard.

Then when the defense was without Julian Blackmon, Harrison would start at strong safety.

“I’ve just been blessed this whole year, getting picked up by the Colts in the offseason, being at home all year, getting a shot to come in on the practice squad to prove myself. I feel like I did that,” Harrison said in January. “To be able to elevate and play and help make a difference toward the playoffs is everything I could have dreamed of.”

Harrison finished last season appearing in seven games and playing 234 defensive snaps. He made 18 of his 22 tackle attempts, allowed only six receptions on 11 targets and held opponents to under 7.0 yards per catch. Harrison also had two interceptions.

At least given what we can glean from OTAs and minicamp, it sounds like the starting snaps next to Blackmon were between only Cross and Thomas.

Early on in his career, Harrison saw more snaps as a free safety, according to PFF, which is the role that the Colts need to fill. However, in recent years, he’s spent more time in the box.

How Harrison could fit into this positional battle at safety remains to be seen. The Colts would either have to be comfortable moving Harrison to free safety or have Harrison be the strong safety and move Julian Blackmon back to the free safety role, even though he is coming off a career year playing in the box.

During the Colts first training camp practice, Jake Arthur did note that Harrison went through individual drills with the defensive backs and played safety during the team portion.

“Sometimes the strong safety and the WILL linebacker in our system act very similar,” Gus Bradley said via the Indy Star. “So we had him (Harrison) in here at strong safety, and we thought, ‘Let’s put him in at linebacker on the practice squad. We like his skill set, his ball skills and his speed, so let’s see if we can get him closer to the ball.’”

Colts’ training camp roster preview: LB Ronnie Harrison

Next up in our training camp roster preview is LB Ronnie Harrison. Here is a look back at 2023 and what’s potentially ahead in 2024.

Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.

Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.

I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is linebacker Ronnie Harrison. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

It wasn’t until last summer that the Colts would sign Ronnie Harrison, who at the time was just 26 years old and had started 45 games at safety. But the Colts decided to move Harrison to linebacker, a transition that began during training camp and continued into the season while he was on the practice squad.

Then when the Colts moved on from Shaq Leonard, Harrison got his chance on the active roster, as the team’s Will linebacker when in their base defense and also starting games at strong safety when Julian Blackmon was injured.

“Sometimes the strong safety and the WILL linebacker in our system act very similar,” Gus Bradley said via the Indy Star. “So we had him in here at strong safety, and we thought, ‘Let’s put him in at linebacker on the practice squad. We like his skill set, his ball skills and his speed, so let’s see if we can get him closer to the ball.'”

Harrison would appear in seven games defensively last season, playing 234 snaps. He would make 18 of his 22 tackle attempts and allow just six receptions in coverage on 11 targets, holding opponents to 6.7 yards per catch. Harrison also came away with two interceptions.

“I’ve just been blessed this whole year, getting picked up by the Colts in the offseason, being at home all year, getting a shot to come in on the practice squad to prove myself. I feel like I did that,” Harrison said in January. “To be able to elevate and play and help make a difference toward the playoffs is everything I could have dreamed of.”

2024 Season Preview

Harrison was re-signed by the Colts back in March to a one-year deal for the 2024 season. At linebacker, Zaire Franklin and EJ Speed will dominate the snaps at that position, but the third linebacker role in this defense will one of the training camp battles taking place this summer.

Presumably, Harrison may be a favorite to win that job. His experience as a safety can bring an added coverage ability to the linebacker position for the Colts, again able to handle the Will responsibilities when in their base 4-3 defense, or if the Colts want to go big when in nickel.

“He’s a great athlete and ball player,” Zaire Franklin said about Harrison. “He’s started and played meaningful downs and made meaningful plays in this league. Whenever you’ve got a veteran who understands the game and is capable of making pretty much every play, it’s always a positive.”

However, the Colts also added some competition over the offseason for Harrison, drafting Missouri safety Jaylon Carlies, who will be a linebacker in this defense and can help fill a similar role. Segun Olubi fits more of the middle linebacker role.

7 recently cut players the Bears should consider adding

Whether it’s another backup quarterback or help at punt returner, here are a few players the Bears should consider adding

The Chicago Bears 2023 initial roster was finally set on Tuesday afternoon as general manager Ryan Poles made the necessary cuts to get the team down to 53 players. It likely won’t stay that way for long, however.

Like the Bears, the rest of the NFL trimmed their rosters down, with hundreds of players hitting the waiver wire, able to be claimed and brought onto a new team. Chicago has top priority, though, meaning they will automatically get any player they put a claim on who passes through waivers.

Poles was busy this time last year, as the Bears claimed a total of seven players at various positions. With top priority, will they match or exceed that number? Given some of the cuts and releases that have been made that include fairly high-profile players, they could be busy. Teams have until 11 a.m. CT on Wednesday to submit claims.

Here are a few names the Bears should consider who have either hit the waiver wire or become free agents within the last couple of days.

10 Browns free agents remain unsigned heading into OTAs

10 members of the 2022 Browns have yet to find a new home in free agency.

The Cleveland Browns dramatically overhauled their defense this offseason. From the hiring of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to the signing of defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to the trade for Za’Darius Smith, the Browns addressed a bleeding issue from a year ago. This means, however, that means players from the 2022 roster have parted ways as well, including the likes of running back Jadeveon Clowney and running back Kareem Hunt.

With OTAs underway as well, both Hunt and Clowney have yet to find a new home in free agency. They are not the only two, however, as there are a total of 10 players from Cleveland’s 2022 roster that remain unsigned as the offseason progresses.

 

Will the Browns re-sign Ronnie Harrison the second year in a row?

Will Ronnie Harrison be back in Cleveland in 2023?

Ronnie Harrison had a productive first season with the Cleveland Browns after they traded for him prior to the 2020 season. However, his last two seasons for the team have not had nearly the return the team hoped for. After re-signing with the team last year he is again an unrestricted free agent and the team isn’t likely to bring him back for a fourth season.

This season for Harrison PFF graded him at a 46 overall and a 45.6 in coverage and he made little impact on the field. When you watched the team he didn’t make many plays that stood out and were just a player for depth. The team is looking at some changes under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Harrison won’t likely be back for the Browns.

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4 Pending free agents the Browns should not re-sign this offseason

Not every pending free agent is worth re-signing.

Not every pending free agent for a team is worth re-signing. And for the Cleveland Browns, a handful of players who have been significant contributors, even as early as a season ago, no longer serve a purpose on the field for the team. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney would be the big name here, especially after his rant to the media, even if he did apologize for his comments.

Who are other names to mention that the Browns should let walk this offseason to gain traction toward a potential compensatory pick? Here are four names the Browns should have little interest in bringing back in 2023.

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