The dust has settled on the NFL trade deadline, and the Cleveland Browns ended up being far quieter than anticipated by the 4pm EST cutoff. While the obvious trade - Za'Darius Smith being sent to the Detroit Lions - did finally take place the day of the deadline, other rumored to be on the block players like Greg Newsome II and Elijah Moore ended up staying with the team.
The only other transaction of note for the Browns was them releasing DT Quinton Jefferson, who found himself stuck behind the talented depth on Cleveland's defensive line. A strange move considering the D-line is one of the team's strengths and depth is always good at such an injury-prone position, but Jefferson deserved to get playing time elsewhere.
Now, the Browns are left with the same offense and secondary as they've had all season in addition to a pretty different D-line. That makes it feel like the team is going full send on a tank, but you wouldn't know that from the fact that players like Myles Garrett still feel the team can make a playoff push. The AFC is weak this season, but it doesn't feel so weak that a team with no receivers with games of 100 receiving yards or more in nine weeks of play could actually be a wild card squad.
The remaining strength of schedule for Cleveland remains high. Other than their Week 11 game against the equally bad New Orleans Saints, they'll still have two more games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, one against the Denver Broncos, another against the Cincinnati Bengals, and a formidable game against the Kansas City Chiefs. In short, the window of opportunity for them to stage a miraculous comeback feels shut. Tightly.
Still, there are some questions worth asking about this team after this deadline.
1. Are the Browns in full blown tank mode?
With the Smith trade and release of Jefferson, it feels like Cleveland is ready to embrace the 2025 draft. They have to, after all, considering the cap hit they're taking with Deshaun Watson's contract and the amount of dead cap they're taking on in 2025 - $16 million worth, to be exact. That's because the front office keeps punting several salaries down the road in exchange for paying players through bonus money instead.
So, Cleveland may not be outright saying they're tanking, but given their upcoming schedule, it's safe to assume that'll be the case so they land somewhere in the top 3 of the NFL draft in 2025 with their first rounder and so they have reason to really show out in later rounds.
2. Will the Browns get more experimental with QB1?
Cleveland also has a problem when it comes to quarterback. Next season, we still don't know who will be under center for the team consistently, but Watson's contract might make that decision for the team. That said, if the Browns land a top two or three pick in the 2025 draft, is it worth passing on Cam Ward to simply soothe the worries of Watson?
Cleveland has to think ahead. Watson has shown no sign of being a franchise quarterback, and now he'll be returning from a major Achilles injury that's left quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins pretty immobile. They should try to see what they have in Dorian Thompson-Robinson a few more times this season to fully determine Jameis Winston's value to the team moving forward, and to see who should be backing Watson - or a rookie quarterback - up next season.
3. Is Cleveland going to finally balance out attack on offense?
While passing has obviously been an issue for the Browns - none of their receivers have a game with over 100 receiving yards - their run game has been bleak. Nick Chubb is back but has yet to find his explosiveness again, and that's to be expected after another major knee surgery for him. But, the backup running backs on the team aren't producing much either. The team is only rushing for 91 yards per game, good for 28th in the league.
Read more: The Browns offense will never be competent until they fix the run game
With the deadline having passed and with the team clearly set for a tanking course, it'd be wise for them to see what they have in other running backs like Jerome Ford, D'Onta Foreman, and Pierre Strong moving forward. Ford doesn't feel like their best backup or second play option, but Foreman has certainly shown flashes of being able to get some explosive extra yardage. If the team doesn't trust Winston after his abysmal Week 9 performance, putting the ball in Foreman or Strong's hands for more possessions isn't the worst idea in the world.