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Jerry Jeudy 'focusing on being the best version of myself' after trade to Cleveland Browns
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- Jerry Jeudy 'focusing on being the best version of myself' after trade to Cleveland Browns
The initial comments the Browns put out from newly-acquired wide receiver Jerry Jeudy when the deal was officially announce on Wednesday used the words "wanted" and "welcomed" to describe how he felt about being traded from the Denver Broncos .
Jeudy elaborated on those feelings when he spoke on a Zoom call with the media on Thursday afternoon. Specifically, to him, they spoke of a welcoming into a new beginning for him in his fifth year in the league.
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"I feel like a fresh start," Jeudy said. "It's going to be exciting just to be able to be somewhere new, especially having all the great guys on the team. So it is just going to make things a lot more easier for me and just better."
The Browns agreed to the trade for Jeudy on Saturday, sending a fifth- and a sixth-round pick back to the Broncos. The agreement marked the end of a long quest on the part general manager Andrew Berry to bring the ultra-talented receiver to Cleveland .
There had been talk for more than a year about the Broncos potentially moving on from Jeudy, who they took No. 15 overall in the 2020 draft out of the University of Alabama. Whenever that talk started up, the Browns were often near the top of the list of teams connected to him.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy during halftime against the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 19, 2023, in Santa Clara, California.
Jeudy was one of those who heard the talk of the Browns' interest. Back then, though, it was just talk.
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"When I first heard they were interested was I think the end of the 2021 season, I think," Jeudy said. "I'm not really too sure. You hear things but you're not really, unless nothing happens, it's just all talk. So actually being here now it shows that how much they really wanted me and how much high expectations they have for me. So it's exciting for real."
Jeudy was productive during his time in Denver, catching 211 passes for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns in 57 career games. He certainly was a capable big-play target, as his 10 40-plus-yard catches over the past two seasons puts him in the company of only four other receivers, one of whom is his newest teammate — and childhood idol — Amari Cooper .
Despite those numbers, there was a sense of disappointment among some in Denver, both within the fanbase and the organization. This past season, Jeudy had 54 catches for 758 yards and two touchdowns, number far below expectations in the fourth season of a former first-round draft pick,
Whose expectations? The former first-round draft pick's expectations.
"I have high expectations for myself, so I don't think I played my best because as a football player and as a receiver, there's a lot of things you've got to go through to really be a successful wide receiver in the league," Jeudy said. "So right now I'm just really just not really dwelling on the past too much. All I can control is the future. So right now I'm just focusing, like I said, just being where my feet are and just focusing on being the best version of myself this upcoming year."
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That's when Jeudy hopes to really put behind him all that surrounding him in the Mile High City. Much of that came to a head this past October, which coincided with Denver off to a 1-5 start and comment made by former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith — where he referred to Jeudy on a podcast as a "JAG," parlance for "just a guy" — that led to a public back-and-forth between the two.
Jeudy didn't want to completely relitigate the issues he has, either with Smith or anyone else during his time in Denver. However, as he said himself, talk is just talk and actions speak louder than words.
With months to go until there will be games for Jeudy to play in to provide those actions, he turned to a common refrain: Turn on the tape. Which leads back to the Browns and the wanted feeling he took in walking into the building.
"Some people got their opinions on me and some people think otherwise," Jeudy said. "Like I said, I don't really think that really, it didn't affect me in no type of way, it didn't affect the Browns. And like I said, I know the Browns didn't really listen to what Steve Smith had to say. They just had to turn on the tape to see if it's really true or not. And they turn on the tape and see it wasn't true what he said."
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jerry Jeudy gets 'fresh start' after trade to Cleveland Browns
