The Cleveland Browns appear to be in the start of a rebuilding or retooling process, and that process seemed to start midway through last season when it became clear that their current cast couldn’t get the job done.
They traded veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowler, and stud defensive end Za’Darius Smith in October. Shortly afterward, star quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has been a huge disappointment since arriving in a 2022 trade, tore his Achilles, and it became evident that they were looking to move on from him.
The Browns may not be done tinkering with their roster this offseason. According to a source, they have been “actively pursuing” wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk via trade. Per Kevin Collard, there could be momentum toward Cleveland landing Aiyuk in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
Aiyuk, who just turned 27 years of age, has tallied a total of 4,305 yards in his five seasons with San Francisco. His best year was 2023, when he led the 49ers with 75 catches and 1,342 receiving yards as they came to the very brink of winning the Super Bowl championship. It was the third straight year he had upped his total of receiving yards since entering the NFL as a first-round draft pick in 2020.
But 2024 wasn’t a good year for him. He demanded a huge contract extension all offseason and staged a hold-in during training camp while also asking to be traded.
He received a four-year, $120 million extension in late August, but he didn’t live up to it. He tallied just 25 receptions and 374 receiving yards and didn’t score a touchdown in the first seven games of 2024 before tearing his ACL and MCL in Week 7.
The Niners have reportedly been open to trading Aiyuk lately, although they perhaps haven’t been actively shopping him on the open market.
Cleveland currently has just one bona fide threat at the wide receiver position in Jerry Jeudy, who caught 90 balls for 1,229 yards and four touchd
owns last season.