Columbus, Ohio — There will be no more Jacoby Brissett in The Land.
Joshua Dobbs is not, nor is anyone else, for that matter.
The 4-3 Browns, who are worried about Deshaun Watson’s strained right rotator cuff, decided not to make any moves at Tuesday’s trade deadline, missing potential opportunities to add players to their roster for the second half of the season.
They merely sent wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Lions on Tuesday in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick. All they can do is try to make the same kind of decision with that pick as they did in 2020 when they selected Michigan State’s Peoples-Jones with their sixth-round pick.
Despite playing the first 11 games with Brissett and the final six with Watson, Peoples-Jones put in a lot of effort to improve every season, coming dangerously close to being a 1,000-yard receiver in the previous campaign. Peoples-Jones concluded his career here with 117 catches for 1,837 yards and eight touchdowns, despite having only eight catches for 97 yards in this quarterback-challenged season.
When the Browns did not extend Peoples-Jones throughout the offseason or pursue any trade talks in the run-up to the trade deadline, it was clear that he was going to go. After this season, his contract will expire, and the Browns will at least have something to show for him.
Third-round selection Cedric Tillman, who hasn’t played much this season and has been a healthy scratch in the last three games, will probably replace him in the starting lineup in part. Tillman has only had one reception for five yards this season, but he ought to see more targets starting with the Cardinals game on Sunday at home.
At this point, it’s unclear if the Browns made a serious effort to sign a seasoned backup quarterback like Brissett or Dobbs, or even if they did.
To help replace Kirk Cousins, who is sidelined for the season due to an Achilles tear, Dobbs, who was sold to the Cardinals on August 24 after fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson lit it up in the preseason, was moved to the Vikings on Tuesday for a late-round pick. In exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick, the Vikings also received a 2024 seventh-round pick. If the Browns had wanted Dobbs, they most likely could have traded for him for that small amount.
It’s also unclear if they asked about Brissett, who the Commanders refused to just hand over. He serves as Sam Howell’s mentor and invaluable backup.
Since at least March, the Browns have been watching Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy. However, a source informed Cleveland.com on Monday that the Broncos, who defeated the Chiefs on Sunday, had no plans to deal him. They probably gave some other receivers some fits, but nothing worked out.
It also appears that the Browns passed on the opportunity to deal with the Commanders for former Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young. At the conclusion of the third round, the 49ers acquired Young, the 2020 No. 2 overall pick, in exchange for their compensatory pick. For a pass rusher who has five sacks through six games this season and seems to have recovered from his significant knee surgery in 2021—a torn ACL and ruptured patella—it seems like a modest price to pay.
The Browns’ genuine optimism that Watson will be back for the Ravens game on November 12 may be indicated by the absence of a seasoned backup quarterback. The Browns hope so, but nothing is guaranteed. Even though it looks like he might miss Sunday’s game against the Cardinals—his sixth consecutive missed or incomplete game, including his early departure from the Colts victory—that’s not confirmed yet.
