Getty Images The Browns could spend the bye week investigating some additional wide receiver depth to pair with Amari Cooper.
The Cleveland Browns are heading into an early bye week and could use it as an opportunity to add a new weapon via trade to the wide receiver corps.
A name that has surfaced as a potential option is Denver Broncos pass catcher Jerry Jeudy, whom the Browns had looked into previously. Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wrote that Jeudy could be a target if they decide to investigate upgrading their wide receiver room.
“I believe the Browns will get to the bye week and begin to determine if they need to add another Pro Bowl-caliber receiver to the roster,” Cabot wrote on October 1. “If so, I think Jeudy could land on their radar again because he’s been there before, as recently as March before they traded for Elijah Moore.”
Cabot added that a move for someone like Jeudy is more likely than a trade for disgruntled Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams. Cabot did not elaborate on a reason but did note that Jeudy is 24 years old and Adams is 30.
Jeudy would be a great fit opposite of his Alabama brethren Amari Cooper. He’d also get to pair up with Elijah Moore and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Jeudy entered this year coming off his best season as a pro, collecting 67 catches for 972 yards and six touchdowns. In all, Jeudy has 2,453 yards on 168 catches in his career. Jeudy hasn’t had the best start to the new season. He missed the opener due to injury and in three games has 13 catches for 158 yards and has yet to find the end zone.
He is the fourth season of his rookie deal, a four-year, $15 million contract that gives the Broncos a fifth-year option that will cost them $13 million if they pick it up.
Browns ‘Good’ With Current Wide Receiver Room
The Browns did some work this offseason to beef up their passing attack. They traded for Moore, signed veteran Marquise Goodwin and drafted Cedric Tillman with a third-round pick.
Moore has been a solid addition and the Browns have schemed to use him in multiple ways. However, Tillman and Goodwin have combined for just two catches this season for five yards. It hasn’t been great, but Browns general manager Andrew Berry said he likes where they are.
“We feel good about our pass catchers,” Berry said on Wednesday, October 4, when asked if the team would look around for options during the bye week.
To be fair, it’s been hard to judge the Browns’ offense so far this season. They played the opener in sloppy conditions and are coming off a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in which quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play. On top of that, the team is still adjusting to life without Nick Chubb, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2.
Browns Also Need to Explore Options at Running Back
The Browns will also spend the bye week closely examining their running back depth. Cleveland has been unable to get anything going on the ground with Chubb out and the backfield could use an upgrade.
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has been floated as an option, although the Browns declined to go into detail when asked about a potential deal.
“You guys have heard me say before, we’re always active seekers, participants in the trade market,” Berry said. “But I would say we’re pleased with the running back room.”
Berry rarely shows his cards, but it’d be naive to believe that the front office is truly happy with what’s happening at running back currently.
In two starts, new lead back Jerome Ford has recorded 44 rushing yards and averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. For the season, he’s averaging 3.7 yards per carry — a number that was helped out by a 69-yard run against the Pittsburgh Steelers after Chubb went down.