CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders dots his teammate’s chest with a deep ball, and the catch is secured in the end zone. But instead of a Cleveland touchdown, Sanders’ throw results in a Bears interception.
And when this pass game reads like a riddle, like it did again during Sunday’s 31-3 loss at Soldier Field, Browns fans know to solve for the X receiver.
Veteran wideout Jerry Jeudy dropped his 11th pass of the season on the play in question, and that’s about all history will remember from his performance at Soldier Field. Jeudy logged two receptions (22 yards, four targets) against Chicago, both of which came on Cleveland’s doomed final drive. He finished one catch ahead of Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
You know, because Johnson stole Jeudy’s touchdown with 5:52 to play in the third quarter. Or Jeudy gave it to him. Depends on your perspective.
Looking for a Sanders saboteur in the Browns’ midst? Look outside the numbers toward Jeudy, who entered Sunday ranked 57th or lower in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this season.
His 5.8 yards per target ranked 161st, just behind second-year Panthers tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. And his average salary ($17.5 million) ranked 26th among receivers (just behind Commanders star Deebo Samuel), highlighting the difference between Cleveland’s investment and return.
Jeudy shares the shame of this season with general manager Andrew Berry, who traded two Day 3 draft picks for Jeudy (and a different Day 3 draft pick) during the 2024 offseason. Low-risk bet, right?
Right… until Berry handed Jeudy a three-year, $52.5 million extension just 10 days after the trade. In gambling circles, they call this “doubling down” on your bet, which signals the utmost confidence in its potential. By paying Jeudy immediately, Berry signaled that he swindled the Broncos. Denver drafted Jeudy in 2020 and paired him with bad quarterbacks for 57 games over four seasons. The Broncos lacked the patience to depend on him past his rookie contract.
The Browns pounced on the chance to pay him. And 31 games into Jeudy’s tenure, Cleveland’s wager has underwhelmed.
Jeudy set career-highs in receptions (90) and receiving yards last season (1,229). But he owes those numbers to a five-game hot streak spent catching prayers from deep-ball-happy quarterback Jameis Winston.
During that stretch, Jeudy averaged 7.4 catches for 126.8 yards per game. During his other 26 games in Cleveland, Jeudy’s numbers look more like … early-career Jerry Jeudy (if not worse).
Outside of his outlier month-plus, Cleveland-era Jeudy averages 3.6 receptions per game (0.3 per game below his career average) for 35.9 yards per game (18.9 below his career average) to go with three receiving touchdowns, or three fewer than he caught during his final 26 games in Denver.
And he’s dropped 24 passes since joining the Browns, or eight more than he did with the Broncos.
To be fair, Jeudy’s bad quarterback luck has continued here. Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was hard to watch, right? He struggled to throw downfield. He never eclipsed 221 passing yards in six starts. And Gabriel posted an 80.7 passer rating this season, which ranks 32nd among 35 qualified passers, per Pro Football Reference.
It’s also one point higher than the passer rating enjoyed by quarterbacks targeting Jeudy during his six-year career.
Bottom line: The Browns missed again. Two years after trading for a supposed No. 1 receiver, Cleveland must draft another early in next year’s draft. They have other holes to fill, but few sink deeper than the silhouette on the outside.
You know the answer to this riddle: We’re talking about Jeudy, who will steal $41 million guaranteed from the Browns by the end of a contract that runs through 2027. Or the Browns will give it to him.
Depends on your perspective.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.