Could Browns Explore Trading Notable Wide Receiver Before 2024 Season?

As Browns sort out their wide receiver depth chart during training camp, Elijah Moore could find himself on the outside looking in

Dec 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) celebrates after a touchdown during the first half against the New York Jets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports / Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

It's no secret that the Browns boasts a roster ripe with talent at many key positions. Such is life with a team built to chase championships.

Ultimately, that will make for a mostly cut and dry roster cutdown day for Kevin Stefanski and company come August 27. That doesn't mean there aren't some major decisions to make though, including at the wide receiver position.

The top of the WR depth chart is pretty clear at this point. So long as Amari Cooper gets his ongoing contract dispute with the team resolved before the start of the season, he will be Cleveland's No. 1 wide receiver. After trading for Jerry Jeudy back in March, he is poised to be a regular second option for quarterback Deshaun Watson as well.

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Now, what's interesting with Jeudy is that he was used in a number of different roles during spring practices. At times he was outside, quite often he was in the slot and on a few occasions he even lined up as a weapon out of the backfield. It is my understanding that Jeudy is trending toward being Cleveland's top option out of the slot, which is significant because that's primarily where Elijah Moore operated in 2023.

Moore played over 900 snaps last season and over 40% of them were from the slot WR position. In anticipation of Jeudy seizing that role from him, it creates a precarious situation for Moore who would naturally have to bounce outside to earn more time on the field.

That's where things get really interesting, because there are indications that the organization is extremely high on young wideout Cedric Tillman going into his second season. So much so that reporting suggests he's become their preferred option to lineup opposite of Cooper as the Z receiver.

Where does that leave Moore? Well, one thing working in his favor is that he is versatile enough to play inside or outside, which is certainly valuable to the Browns who have prioritized their depth this offseason.

Then again, if the Browns brass find themselves satisfied with what they're seeing from Tillman throughout training camp and the preseason it may allow them to explore trading Moore by the time training camp concludes and roster cutdown day arrives.

That time of year almost always necessitates trades due to injuries that occur during the preseason and the Browns are no strangers to that. Just last year, general manager Andrew Berry traded top backup QB Josh Dobbs to the Cardinals for a fifth-round pick following the final preseason game. A similar situation could present itself with Moore, where Berry could net some draft capital by sending a wideout with a lot to prove entering in the final year of his rookie deal to a more advantageous situation.

The contract dynamics that are in play also make the scenario interesting. After acquiring Jeudy this spring, Berry wasted no time tacking on three years to his current deal before he'd even played a snap for the franchise. They didn't grant the same courtesy to Moore to this point – or Cooper for that matter. That's telling.

Dec 10, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) celebrates his first down run against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports / Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland also has no money tied up in Moore beyond this season as moving on from him would save more than $3 million in cap space. A lot can obviously still happen between now and the start of the season, but if the 24-year-old is hoping to prove himself worthy of another pay day, he may not find it here.

How the team utilizes Moore and Tillman throughout training camp will be worth keeping an eye on. And maybe, just maybe, it ends with Moore in a different uniform.