BEREA — Nick Harris' last 12-to-24 hours have been, to say the least, hectic.

Harris woke up Sunday morning in Seattle, competing for playing time on the Seahawks. At some point during the day, though, he found out he had been traded to the Browns — the same team he had left in free agency in mid-March — along with a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2026 sixth-rounder.

From there, it was all gas and no brakes for Harris to get back across the country to Cleveland.

"Yeah, I mean I got the news," Harris said prior to the Browns' practice Monday. "Packed up my stuff, got on a red eye, got here this morning at 6. At the walkthrough now, talking to y'all."

The good news for Harris was that the deal wasn't exactly a lightning bolt out of the blue. He said it was at least "two days ago" that he thought he could be coming back to the team that drafted him.

The Browns, who had selected Harris in the fifth round (160th overall) in the 2020 draft, have found themselves in dire straits at center, specifically behind starter Ethan Pocic. They first lost a potential backup when Brian Allen suffered a calf injury the first week of training camp and was released.

The bigger blow came in Saturday's preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers, when second-year pro Luke Wypler suffered a broken right ankle early in the second quarter. That left only first-year pro Zack Johnson to back up Pocic without having to shuffle other players' positions.

That led the Browns to seek out Harris, who had signed with Seattle on a one-year, $2.395 million free-agent deal in March.

"I'm glad to have a job," Harris said. "I have an opportunity to come back and just compete in a place I'm comfortable in, and it feels good to see all my teammates again and see everybody around the building. So I can't complain at all."

Wypler's plight is one Harris understands well, almost too well. There's a world where his first time with the Browns goes a much different way, a way where he's the starting center for the last two seasons and maybe never actually leaves in free agency.

That potential world was there for Harris in 2022. He was being groomed his first two years in the league to replace JC Tretter, and finally had that opportunity.

Then, on the second play of the preseason opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars exactly two years prior to Monday, Harris suffered a major season-ending knee injury. Just like that, a whole different path had to be forged by him.

"I mean, it's definitely rough," Harris said of Wypler's injury. "As soon as I saw it, I let him know if there's anything I can help you with, if there's somebody you want to talk to about it, just let me know because like you said, I know how that feels. It's a tough situation to be in, so I hate to see that. It sucks to see because I know he was working hard and doing what he needed to do out here.

Harris didn't leave the Browns on bad terms, simply because of a business decision. Over his four previous years in Cleveland, he played in 41 regular-season or playoff games, including four starts.

The 25-year-old returned to "a few" text messages from players or other individuals within the Browns. He also had more than a few hugs when he finally got around his old-now-new teammates Monday morning.

Harris, who found a niche with the Browns last season as a short-yardage fullback, returns to one major change. No longer does he have the same offensive coordinator — Ken Dorsey has replaced Alex Van Pelt — or same offensive line coach, where Andy Dickerson replaces Bill Callahan.

So, what's the big differences between the two?

"To be honest, I've been here for maybe 30 minutes," Harris said, laughing, "so I'm not sure. But from what I hear, it's a good mesh."

Harris hopes his world finally slows down a little bit over the next 24 hours for him to find out.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Nick Harris happy to be back with Browns after trade with Seahawks