It did not take long for the perception–and perhaps the reality–of Browns star receiver Jerry Jeudy to take a wild swing in Cleveland. It was only a year ago, after all, that Jeudy had persevered through quarterback upheaval and still managed to put forth a season in which he went for 90 catches and 1,229 yards, earning a Pro Bowl bid along the way.
Jeudy posted a Pro Football Focus grade of 73.5 last year, rating him the No. 38 receiver in the league out of 133 WRs who were graded. This year, that mark has plummeted to 56.9, which rates No. 106 out of 130.
There is, no doubt, a chicken-or-egg question lingering around Jeudy: How much of his poor performance is based on his own lack of effort this season, vs. how much of his poor performance is based on the Browns’ inability to get him the ball as they’ve cycled through Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders this year?
Browns Have Jerry Jeudy on 3-Year Contract
Either way, it’s unlikely that either Jeudy or the Browns are particularly happy about the relationship just now. Jeudy is in the second year of a three-year, $52 million contract that has already been restructured and tinkered with so that much of his money is pushed well into the future.
The Browns probably do not want to try to trade him at his bottom, with Jeudy currently at 40 catches and 519 yards, but with the handful of unforgiveable mistakes he has made–most recently allowing a would-be touchdown pass to be ripped from him against the Bears for an interception–the team might be better off simply getting him off the roster at this point.
Even in a good year in 2024, he had 10 dropped passes. This year, he has nine.
GettyQuarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns.
Browns Could Be ‘On the Bubble’ With Jerry Jeudy
At Spotrac, the contract-expert site, NFL guru Mike Ginnitti foresees Jeudy as a roster “bubble” candidate, meaning he is not likely to be back in 2026–if the Browns can find a trade partner. It’s not out of the question, given the way Jeudy produced in 2024, the fact that he’s only 26 and the overall reasonableness of his contract.
Writes Ginnitti: “Jeudy’s $6M option bonus for 2026 is already fully guaranteed, but the Browns can ship that out to an acquiring team before it needs to be exercised (March 25th). The problem? An early March trade would represent a cap loss of around $350,000. But if the 26-year-old isn’t for the next iteration of this Cleveland offense, draft compensation might be worthy of the dead cap.”
Shedeur Sanders Did Not Point Fingers
Jeudy also made headlines earlier this month for a sideline confrontation between him and Sanders, and whether the Browns stick with Sanders at quarterback or not, that’s probably not the example they want to set for interaction between rookies and veterans.
Though many blamed Jeudy for the end zone interception last week, Sanders did not point the finger.
“It is what it is. I’m not one to kick someone while they’re down,” Sanders said. “He understands it was a big play, and I’m sure he’s hard on himself. So there’s no need for me to be extra and do that.”
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