Jerry Jeudy sounds excited to be in Cleveland — and perhaps out of Denver
Mar 14, 2024, 12:42 PM
Jerry Jeudy has a new team and a new city — and, perhaps, a new-found enthusiasm in the wake of his trade from the Denver Broncos.
“I had heard that the Browns were interested in me even two years ago,” Jeudy said in an interview posted on the Cleveland Browns’ digital-media channels on Wednesday.
“To actually be here is a surreal moment. I feel like I’m wanted here.”
Denver sent Jeudy to the Browns in exchange for fifth- and sixth-round picks this week. The teams agreed on the parameters of the deal last Saturday, and formally executed the swap when the new league year began Wednesday.
“As a player, you always want to be in a place where you want to feel welcomed, and want to make you feel like home, and you want to be wanted,” Jeudy said. “So, having that feeling, it was great.”
It isn’t that Jeudy didn’t walk into Centura Health Training Canter for the first time four years ago feeling unwanted. But he heard all of the chatter about potential trades — as far back as “two years ago,” as he said in the afore-mentioned quote from the Wednesday interview at Browns headquarters in Berea, Ohio.
By the time his fourth and final season with the Broncos ended, Jeudy had reached a point of exasperation with the trade rumblings.
“I don’t give a f*** about none of that,” Jeudy said on Jan. 8 at the Broncos’ locker-room cleanout day.
Wednesday, Jerry Jeudy referred to his time in Denver as “>”a tough few years.”
“I just want this chapter to be better than before,” he said. “So, a great opportunity here to be part of a winning program. Of course, to bring a Super Bowl here. I’m just excited to be here.
And when asked about what he took from Denver to apply to Cleveland, Jerry Jeudy offered a simple answer.
“Really just being the best version of myself, really,” he said. “It’s been a tough few years at Denver, but it’s just good to have a fresh start here, just being here.”
The Browns hope that “best version” is better than what Denver got — which was four seasons sprinkled with tantalizing moments but frustrating inconsistency and a soupçon of off-field drama.