Ronnie Harrison wins in ‘Trading Places’ with Joe Schobert

Ronnie Harrison and Joe Schobert have made a de facto remake of the 1983 classic comedy, “Trading Places”. The grand experiment of Schobert leaving Cleveland to join the Jacksonville Jaguars and Harrison making the opposite move has not been so funny for the longtime Browns linebacker.

Schobert signed in Jacksonville as a free agent for a lucrative payout. Five years and over $53 million was enough to lure him away from the Browns, his team for the first four seasons of his NFL linebacking career. Since he signed with the Jagaurs, the team has jettisoned quality defensive starters Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye, followed by standout running back Leonard Fournette. None were happy in Duval and got out while they still could.

Harrison became the third 2019 defensive starter trading places out of Jacksonville when the Browns traded a 2021 fifth-round pick for the young safety last week. He’s clearly ecstatic to join the more functional ownership and committed to winning organization in Cleveland.

While Harrison seems thrilled to be out of Jacksonville, Schobert appears distraught at his choice to chase the money with the Jaguars.

Schobert later retweeted a reply that indicated the LB was frustrated with the Milwaukee Bucks getting beaten down in the NBA playoffs. Schobert is a Wisconsin native and noted Bucks fan, so there is certainly validity in that excuse. But it’s hard to not think there’s a deeper sense of discontent at the root, something nearly all of the comments to the initial tweet reflect.

Like Dan Aykroyd’s character in Trading Places, Schobert didn’t realize how good he had it in Cleveland until he found the dark hole that is the current Jacksonville Jaguars. Harrison aims to happily prove he can be like Eddie Murphy’s character, someone who was too good to be in his prior situation and thriving when given a better opportunity.