Tag: Jerry Jeudy

Browns land former first round WR Jerry Jeudy in trade with Broncos

The Browns have added a wide receiver upgrade for the cost of just two Day 3 picks.

The Cleveland Browns have already struck a deal before the new league year begins, acquiring former first round wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos.

Playing with abysmal quarterback play in his first three years, however, the production of Jeudy has not lived up to the hype of his draft slot. Through three seasons, Jeudy has yet to break 1,000 yards receiving.

His career-high came in 2022, when he racked up 972 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. This past season he accumulated only 758 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games.

The details of the trade have been released as well, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Browns will get Jeudy for the price of a fifth and sixth round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. When considering this is the shallowest draft class in NFL history, cashing out two of those Day 3 picks to gamble on a former first rounder is well worth the risk.

Now coming to Cleveland, a team in desperate need of an upgrade to their wide receiver room, Jeudy will be inserted as the WR2 for the Browns.

Broncos agree to trade WR Jerry Jeudy to Browns for late-round picks

The Broncos are parting ways with talented but inconsistent WR Jerry Jeudy, sending him to the Browns in exchange for draft picks.

The Denver Broncos are in the process of trading wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The trade cannot become official until the new league year begins on March 13.

In exchange for Jeudy, Cleveland will trade a fifth-round pick (No. 135) and a sixth-round pick (No. 202), according to multiple reports. The Browns will take on Jeudy’s remaining contract, saving Denver $12.987 million in salary cap space this season.

Jeudy, 24, was selected by former Broncos general manager John Elway with the 15th overall pick out of Alabama in the 2020 NFL draft. Jeudy has shown flashes of brilliance since then and he’s a great route runner, but poor quarterback play and injuries have contributed to Jeudy’s production being inconsistent over the last four seasons.

Jeudy appeared to take a step forward in 2022, posting career highs in receptions (67) receiving yards (972) and touchdowns (six) in 15 games, but he followed that up with 54 receptions for 758 yards and three touchdowns in 2023 (16 games).

With the trade, Denver creates $12,987,000 in additional salary cap space while also acquiring more draft capital for April.

Marvin Mims is expected to replace Jeudy’s role in Sean Payton’s offense, and the Broncos also have two other promising young WRs in Brandon Johnson and Jalen Virgil.

Jeudy, who has one season remaining on his contract before he’s set to become a free agent in 2025, now gets a fresh start with a new team.

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Broncos could make trades to free up cap space

“We do have that flexibility,” Broncos GM George Paton said of the possibility of trading players.

The Denver Broncos need to create more salary cap space and they could use more draft picks (they currently hold six picks). The Broncos can address both issues by trading away select players this spring, freeing up cap space while acquiring more draft capital.

Speaking at the NFL combine last month, Broncos general manager George Paton was asked about the possibility of trading players for picks.

“You just look at the contracts we have … some of the veterans we have and some that make more sense than others,” Paton said on Feb. 27. “You don’t want to mortgage the future, so some you don’t have to mortgage as much.

“Really, it’s the player, it’s the youth, do you feel like they’re going to be there a while? Those are the ones maybe you go to, and I’m not sure we’re going to do that or not, but we do have that flexibility.”

Denver was unable to trade safety Justin Simmons and the team ended up releasing him, but other players could be dealt in the coming days. If the team trades wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, for example, that would save $12.98 million in cap space.

More moves are likely coming for the Broncos. Stay tuned.

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Broncos players react to Russell Wilson’s release on Twitter

The Broncos are parting ways with Russell Wilson. Here’s how his teammates reacted on Twitter/X.

Russell Wilson’s release from the Denver Broncos, although expected, has sent shockwaves across the NFL landscape. Wilson came to the Broncos via trade in 2022 and then signed a five-year, $242.5 million contract.

He was expected to turn the Broncos back into playoff contenders, but after an 11-21 record and no playoff appearances, the writing was on the wall. Denver will take a big hit, too, with an unprecedented $85 million “dead money” cap hit.

While the media has had its day with the news, Broncos players have shared their opinions on Wilson’s departure.

Check out the slides to see their reactions on Twitter/X.

5 players the Broncos could trade to create salary cap space

The Broncos might receive trade interest in these five veterans this spring.

The Denver Broncos currently hold just six draft picks and they are projected to be $24 million over the salary cap. The Broncos could address both of those dilemmas through trades this spring, freeing up cap space and acquiring more draft capital by parting ways with pricy veterans.

Pat Surtain likely has the most trade value on Denver’s roster, but he is the club’s best player and still playing on a team-friendly rookie contract. The Broncos seem unlikely to trade Surtain (perhaps unless they attempt to trade up for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft).

We didn’t include Surtain on this list because he is young and affordable, exactly the kind of player Denver should build around. Barring a blockbuster move for a top quarterback prospect, PS2 is presumably safe.

These five other players could be available, though. The Broncos might not draw much interest for a few of them, but the team would probably be willing to part with any of them — if the price is right.

Potential salary cap savings provided by OverTheCap.com. 

10 players the Broncos could cut, trade or restructure to save cap space

The Broncos could save significant salary cap space if they cut, trade or restructure these 10 players ahead of NFL free agency.

With NFL free agency less than a month away, the Denver Broncos are pojected to be about $24 million over the salary cap. The Broncos will likely restructure several contracts to create more cap space, and the club can also cut or trade select veterans for additional cap relief.

We’re not listing quarterback Russell Wilson’s (expected) looming release below because that’s going to create a negative cap hit. To counter that “dead money” cap hit, we’ve put together a list of 10 other players that Denver could cut, trade or restructure (with help from OverTheCap.com for the numbers).

The NFL’s free agency negotiating window will open on March 11. The new league year (and full free agency) will begin on March 13.

5 biggest questions facing the Broncos in 2024

The biggest question for the Broncos: What’s the plan at quarterback?

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton went 8-9 in his first season with the club. That was a notable improvement from the team’s 5-12 record in 2022, but Payton arrived with playoff expectations and failed to deliver.

Now entering his second season in charge, Payton will aim to take another step forward in 2024, and there are several big questions facing the club. Here are five key storylines we’ll be watching going forward.

5-step plan for the Broncos to get under the salary cap (with $35 million available)

The Broncos are projected to be $24 million over the salary cap this offseason. Here’s how they can fix that.

With the official start of NFL free agency (March 13) exactly one month away, the Denver Broncos are facing a salary cap dilemma.

The Broncos are projected to be about $24 million over the salary cap this offseason, so the team will have to get creative if they want to spend in free agency this spring. Denver can create more cap space through restructures, trades and player cuts.

With help from OverTheCap.com, we’ve come up with a five-step plan to get the Broncos under the salary cap with room to spare. These projected moves are made presuming that Denver will designate quarterback Russell Wilson as a post-June 1 release next month (which isn’t guaranteed, but seems probable).

If Wilson is cut and designed as a post-June 1 transaction, his salary cap hit won’t be different than his current 2024 cap hit ($35.4 million), according to OTC. So the team’s projected cap space factors in Wilson’s (expected) release.

Here’s how the Broncos can get out of the red this offseason.

Broncos’ leading receivers from 2023 season

After Courtland Sutton (772 yards) and Jerry Jeudy (758 yards), the Broncos’ next three leading receivers in 2023 were all running backs.

Peyton Manning led a record-breaking Denver Broncos offense in 2013 that featured a pair of 1,000-yard receivers and four players with double-digit touchdown receptions.

It’s not fair to compare the 2023 squad to one of the best (if not the best) offense in NFL history, but the Broncos’ receiving totals last season are especially underwhelming when one recalls the team’s glory days with Manning.

Denver did not have a single receiver top 1,000 receiving yards in 2023. Courtland Sutton did haul in 10 touchdown catches, but no other player on the team had more than four scores last fall.

Behind Sutton (772 yards) and Jerry Jeudy (758 yards), the team’s next three leading receivers were all running backs, perhaps a reflection of quarterback Russell Wilson’s reluctance to push the ball down the field. Broncos RBs Javonte Williams (50 catches) and Samaje Perine (47 receptions) both more than doubled Marvin Mims’ catch total (22) in 2023.

Outside of Sutton’s impressive touchdowns, it was mostly a season to forget for Denver’s passing attack. Here’s a quick look back at the team’s 10 leading receivers from the 2023 campaign.

Let the Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy trade rumors begin

Déjà vu: Broncos WRs Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy could both draw trade interest this offseason. Should Denver trade one in 2024?

Welcome to the NFL offseason.

The league still has conference title games set for this weekend and the Super Bowl scheduled for Feb. 11, but for 28 teams, the offseason has already arrived.

The Denver Broncos will be a fascinating team to follow this offseason as they sort out their quarterback situation and navigate a salary cap mess. The Broncos currently only hold six draft picks and we know they want to acquire more, so trades are a very real possibility this spring.

Denver’s top two wide receivers — Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy — have been mentioned in reports of trade discussions for more than two years now, and those talks will likely continue in 2024.

Earlier this week, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis wrote that “after entertaining the possibility of trading either Sutton or Jerry Jeudy last offseason, the Broncos are expected to move on from one this offseason.”

Klis has backtracked a little from his “expected to move on” statement by writing on Twitter/X page that he is “speculating,” not reporting. Still, it’s easy to connect the dots. Denver wants draft picks and the team needs salary cap space. Trading one of Sutton or Jeudy would make sense.

Playing on his fifth-year option, Jeudy is set to have a salary cap hit of $12.987 million this season. The Broncos would be free of all of that cap hit if Jeudy is traded this spring.

Sutton is scheduled to have a cap hit of $17,395,588 in 2024. Trading him would free up $9,745,588 in cap space. Releasing him with a post-June 1 designation would create $13,570,588 in cap space.

Earlier this month, Sutton wrote a message on his Instagram page that sounded like a goodbye to fans. It’s possible that the receiver already expects Denver to move on this offseason, either via trade or release.

Sutton is coming off a year in which he scored a career-high 10 touchdowns, but the Broncos might have trouble finding a trade partner willing to take on the receiver’s entire contract. Jeudy is coming off an underwhelming season in which he scored twice, but he’s younger and on a cheaper contract.

Trading Jeudy would likely be easier, but Denver might be willing to part ways with either (or both) WRs this spring. Right now, it’s merely speculation, but in the coming months, trade buzz should start to heat up.

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