Jaguars will reportedly sign former Browns RB D'Ernest Johnson to one-year deal

According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jaguars are signing former Cleveland Browns running back D'Ernest Johnson to a one-year deal.

While Jacksonville was very quiet during the early portion of free agency, they've come alive during the second wave, bringing in a running back with some experience to fill out the team's RB depth chart behind Travis Etienne, JaMycal Hasty and Snoop Conner. The team also rosters Qadree Ollison and Mekhi Sargent at running back.

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Johnson, undrafted after coming out of USF in 2018, took his talents to the since-defunct Alliance of American Football league for the 2019 season. In eight games with the Orlando Apollos, Johnson rushed for 372 yards and had 22 catches for 220 yards.

Johnson later signed with the Browns after the AAF ceased to exist in April 2019. He has spent the past four years with Cleveland, playing in 64 games. Johnson's best season came in 2021 when he played in place of an injured Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Johnson ran for 534 yards and three touchdowns, catching 19 passes for 137 yards.

In his career, Johnson has carried the ball 141 times for 738 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, catching 31 passes for 229 yards.

Johnson also provides depth on special teams, something Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson noted at the NFL Combine last month was important for the RB position.

During his time with the Browns, Johnson logged 733 snaps on special teams, including playing 52 percent of the team's special teams snaps in 2022.

"You’re always looking to have two, three, four guys that can work the rotation at any given time," Pederson said at the time. "The last thing I’ll say is I like him to play special teams as well, so that’s a big part of the, I think the impact of a running back is being able to play special teams."

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Former Browns RB D'Ernest Johnson set to sign with Jaguars