As if the New York Jets' Week 16 couldn't get any worse, the Cleveland Browns' best wide receiver has chimed in after reports of the AFC East teams' alleged interest in trading for him in 2024 have surfaced.
An article in The Athletic co-authored by Dianna Russini, Zach Rosenblatt, and Michael Silver was published on Thursday prior to Week 16 action in the NFL, and it was all about the Jets' complete incompetence at the hands of owner Woody Johnson.
The article exposes just how fraught his relationship with ex-general manager Joe Douglas had become, and how involved his two teenage sons are in the team's moves. It's an excellent read that could qualify as an exposé had it not been clear that the Jets were run by an incompetent front office for years, anyway.
Read more: Browns benefitted from the Jets' incompetence in the 2024 offseason
But, one of the biggest details to come out from the piece has been the teams' interest in trading for Jerry Jeudy back in 2024. That's when the Browns managed to snag him from the Denver Broncos for a fifth and sixth round pick. The Jets, according to the article, were interested in trading for the star receiver, but because Johnson was told his Madden rating was too low, he didn't want to pull the trigger.
Jeudy, having likely seen the report floating around as it went viral across the league upon its publishing, had a hilarious response to it all on social media.
I blame 😂 @ochocinco
— Jerry Jeudy⁴ (@jerryjeudy) December 19, 2024
For context: Chad Ochocinco is involved in grading players for the Madden franchise. So, Jeudy's poking fun at Ochocinco apparently rating him so low that Johnson had to avoid trading for him in the offseason.
Well, it worked out great for Cleveland that Jeudy ended up with them insteaed of in New York. Jeudy finally has a 1,000 receiving yard season in 2024 and has shown no sign of slowing down that production. In addition, he had one of the most memorable moments of the NFL season in his return to Denver, going for 235 receiving yards and a touchdown.
It's safe to say that Jeudy's happy with the Browns given how great of a year he's had despite the team's 3-11 record, and definitely safe to say the Browns are happy with the trade since those picks amounted to a backup cornerback and a backup running back for Denver. Jeudy got a fresh start, and somehow, one on a team that has become far less dysfunctional than the Jets.