After two seasons of nearly dealing their former first-round wide receiver, the Denver Broncos have finally traded Jerry Jeudy, sources tell CBS Sports. And Jeudy lands now with the Cleveland Browns.
The deal sends Jeudy to Cleveland in exchange for a fifth- and sixth-round pick, sources say. The trade frees up $12.987 million in cap space for a Broncos team that has been desperate to find space in the wake of the Russell Wilson release.
The trade also gives the Browns another weapon at wide receiver in Jeudy, the 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft who will turn 25 years old next month.
Jeudy has been on the trade block each of the past two seasons, but Denver GM George Paton has decided against dealing him at the trade deadline. Reasons for that included Wilson, armed with a quarter-billion contract, needed as many weapons as possible to succeed, and the Broncos dealt with numerous injuries at pass-catcher each of the past two seasons.
But Jeudy has struggled to live up to where he was selected in the draft. He has never broken the 1,000-yard barrier in any of his four seasons. Last year he had 54 catches for 758 yards and just two touchdowns. His 1.8 yards per route were the lowest of his career.
A change of scenery could very well help the receiver, who goes to Cleveland on his fifth-year option of nearly $13 million. He will pair with Amari Cooper, whom the Browns traded for two seasons ago ahead of the start of free agency and who turns 30 years old over the summer.
Rather than get involved in a free-agency spending spree on wideouts, the Browns are opting again to get ahead of the market with this trade. Cleveland doesn't have a draft pick until No. 54 in April's draft, and the No. 85 pick is the Browns' only other top-100 pick, so it may not be possible to get a top-flight receiver in the draft even though the position is deep this year.
Watson is entering his third season with the Browns after signing a historic five-year, fully guaranteed contract in 2022. In November, he had season-ending shoulder surgery. Browns general manager Andrew Berry told CBS Sports last month at the combine that Watson will begin throwing again in March.
"He's been working his tail off in terms of recovery," Berry said. "He's progressing well. He'll start his throwing progression next month. And we're really pleased with how his shoulder is progressing and how he's trending. We'll take it kind of week to week, day by day. Don't put the cart in front of the horse. But we feel really good about where he is today."
Meanwhile, the Broncos continue to clear cap space ahead of the start of free agency. They've cleared more than $30 million in space in recent days by restructuring Mike McGlinchey's contract and cutting Justin Simmons, among other moves. This move gives them an extra $13 million in space.
Denver has yet to announce whether Wilson's release will be a pre- or post-June 1 cut. Denver will have to eat $85 million in dead money, by far the most in NFL history for one player. But the Broncos now have enough space to take the larger $53 million dead-money cap hit in 2024 and the lower $32 million in 2025 if they so choose.
Others around the league feel Denver head coach Sean Payton wants the cap space this year to make a splash in free agency, so the Broncos may instead use the post-June 1 designation and eat $35.4 million this year and $49.6 million next year.
