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Cleveland Browns: 3 Players needing to bounce back in 2019

By Randy Gurzi

CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 03: Christian Kirksey #58 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates an incomplete pass in the endzone during the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center on December 3, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 03: Christian Kirksey #58 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates an incomplete pass in the endzone during the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center on December 3, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 28: Bud Dupree #48 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is held in the end zone by Desmond Harrison #69 of the Cleveland Browns resulting in a safety during the third quarter in the game at Heinz Field on October 28, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 28: Bud Dupree #48 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is held in the end zone by Desmond Harrison #69 of the Cleveland Browns resulting in a safety during the third quarter in the game at Heinz Field on October 28, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

3. Desmond Harrison, Left Tackle

One of the biggest surprises to kick off the 2018 season was Desmon Harrison starting at left tackle in Week 1. Harrison’s path to the NFL was a rough one as he played at Contra Coast College before transferring to Texas. While there, he was deemed academically ineligible due to a technicality. Once cleared to play, he started to deal with off-field issues and was suspended three times.

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Harrison never ended up playing for the Longhorns and then wound up at West Georgia. While there, he was a dominant player but the competition level was less than ideal for a player trying to make the pros. That, coupled with his age (he will be 26 this season) led to Harrison going undrafted.

Once he finally joined the Browns, he struggled to stay healthy and missed much of his first training camp. Still, head coach Hue Jackson liked his athleticism and wanted him to get on the field to start developing his skills.

The rookie was benched after Jackson’s firing and ended up spending the final eight games on the sideline. While his replacement, Greg Robinson, did play much better, Harrison showed some flashes in his eight starts.

Entering 2019, he’s slated to be the swing tackle but considering Robinson is playing on just a one-year deal, there’s a chance Harrison could push him for the job — or maybe even right tackle Chris Hubbard. Of course, in order to do that he needs to make a big leap this season and try to play more like the player we saw perform well in Week 4 against Oakland than the one who wound up being sent to the bench by midseason.

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