BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Urban legends can spread quickly in the NFL and a Browns receiver found himself caught up in one.
Here’s a few Brownie Bites from Thursday.
Tall tale – The Jets had interest in Jerry Jeudy this offseason but for one reason or another the Browns beat them to the punch in acquiring him from the Broncos. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that Jets owner Woody Johnson nixed the trade because of Jeudy’s Madden rating. The story went viral. “To be honest, I don't believe it. I think that's a fake news,” Jeudy said. “For real, why would somebody look at Madden ratings? Be real. I don't think that's real, but it is funny.” We all remember the legend of the homeless guy that told Jimmy Haslam to draft Johnny Manziel, and this Johnson story is right up there with it. Jeudy seems pretty happy with how things ended up for him this offseason. “I'm glad that I'm here,” Jeudy said. “I'm glad my Madden rating was low. Yeah, got me here.” Jeudy is having a career year leading the Browns with 70 catches for 1,052 yards and four touchdowns, which ranks him fifth in the NFL. “I feel like I belong there,” Jeudy said. “I've been working my tail off through this whole off season and now it's finally showing being put in a position I'm in now. Now it's time to take advantage of every opportunity coming forward.”
Playing spoiler – Browns and Bengals games have been quite juicy when it comes to storylines in recent years and Sunday is no different with Cleveland able to eliminate Cincinnati from the playoffs with a win. “Obviously our season is over with, so we’re trying to bring them with us,” safety Grant Delpit said. “It's just y'all got a chance to go to playoffs. I ain't going, so y'all ain't going. No offense, nothing personal. It's just it is what it is. I'm trying to go win.” Since 2018 the Browns are 9-4 against Cincinnati but have lost three of the last four. “It's going to be real fun,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “Our biggest goal though is getting that win, but if it is taking them out then that's what has to happen.” The Browns are 3-11 and looking to avoid a fourth consecutive loss, which would be the 23rd such streak of at least four losses in a row since 1999. “To me, it's about us,” linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “We need this win probably more than they do in my opinion. We need to get that feeling back. It's been too long since we've had that feel and I think that would do a lot for this team, for the morale moving forward the next few weeks and finishing the season the right way.”
DTR time – Dorian Thompson-Robinson is preparing for his first start this season, and fourth of his career and the expectation is he will be better prepared this time around now that he has had some advance notice. “I think you see the knowledge of the offense and a lot of that's because how hard he works,” offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said. “He's out there early, going through plays, even when he was the third guy, he's out there doing the same thing as he was when he was the second guy and he'll probably be out there doing the same thing today he was yesterday. So that consistency and approach I think pays off for him. And every rep matters for a quarterback and that includes the mental reps that he takes day in and day out.” This marks the 11th time since 1999 the Browns have gone three deep on starting quarterbacks in a season. “Dorian's always been pretty locked in,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “He's trying to become that starter, so he is always, I think, prepared like a starter when he's out there, but he is taken a leap in knowing the offense and the terminology and all those things. He's always had pretty good pocket presence and I mean control of the huddle when he's been in there with us, it's never seemed too big for him.”
Hop back in there – Kicker Dustin Hopkins returns after getting last week off to relax after struggling in recent weeks. Special teams coordinator and associate head coach Bubba Ventrone feels good about Hopkins’ returning. “He hit the ball well,” Ventrone said. “And in practice, out of all the kicks that we had, he made them all, so I think it was a good week for him to kind of reset. I think coaches did a good job, had a plan, obviously to give him some rest and just take a step away and just kind of refocus and try to finish out the season strong.”
Injury report – DT Shelby Harris (elbow), TE David Njoku (hamstring), DE Myles Garrett (back); LIMITED: QB Jameis Winston (right shoulder), CB Martin Emerson Jr. (concussion), CB Cameron Mitchell (knee), WR Cedric Tillman (concussion); FULL: WR Jerry Jeudy (knee)
