What Joe Tyron-Shoyinka trade means for the Cleveland Browns
The NFL trade deadline, one of the most chaotic days in all of sports. The Cleveland Browns are no stranger to the chaos, making their third trade of the regular season.
After trading Joe Flacco and Greg Newsome over the past couple weeks, plenty of rumors flew in Cleveland about who would be on the move next. It ended up being Joe Tyron-Shoyinka, a pass rusher the Browns signed during the offseason, to the Bears along with a seventh round pick, giving the Browns a sixth in return.
Tyron-Shoyinka had a difficult time finding reps on a deep Cleveland pass rushing unit so far this season. The Browns had high expectations of him as a rotational piece, but the emergence of two younger players buried him on the depth chart.
The first was Alex Wright, the 25-year-old who has started three games this season, and appeared in all eight. Wright has impressed so far, being a key contributor as a pass rusher, and one of the Browns top run stoppers.
So far this year Wright has three sacks and nine tackles for loss. He has 22 total tackles on the year, and a forced fumble.
Wright is in the final year of his contract, trying to earn an extension with the Browns. With the departure of Tyron-Shoyinka, it’s clear the Browns have plenty of faith in the abilities of Wright.
It seems the front office wants to give Wright every opportunity to prove his worth over the remainder of the season, and likely offer him an extension to stay with the Browns.
Despite dealing with an injury that kept him out most of last season, Wright has proven to be a major contributor for the Browns. Winning minutes over a proven veteran in Tyron-Shoyinka seemed to be a final test for Wright, which he passed.
The other pass rusher benefiting from this move is Isaiah McGuire. McGuire has been the starter for the other five games this year, and while he hasn’t been as productive as Wright, he’s been a solid piece to balance with Myles Garrett.
McGuire has had just one sack on the season, and 16 total tackles. McGuire is under contract for another season, but he is still a guy who needs to prove the value he can bring as a pass rusher.
With Tyron-Shoyinka gone, Cleveland’s confidence in its depth is clear. Wright and McGuire will continue to rotate opposite Garrett as the Browns maintain one of the league’s most dominant pass rushes, with plenty of opportunities for the young talent to earn new contracts..
Deion Sanders Drops Stunning News on Browns’ Shedeur Sanders
The Cleveland Browns had more competition in the draft for rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders than previously known — considerably more, in fact.
Some NFL analysts speculated that if Cleveland hadn’t traded up in Round 5, Sanders may have gone un-drafted entirely, despite entering the draft process as a potential first-round pick — or even a top 1o overall prospect.
However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported ahead of the Browns’ Week 2 matchup in Baltimore that the Ravens were interested in Sanders as a backup to Lamar Jackson. Then, on Monday, September 22, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders revealed that the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles also had designs on adding his son to their roster back in April.
Deion Sanders made that revelation during an appearance on the “New Heights” podcast, hosted by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce.
How in the world did they make a big deal out of this? Philly called us on draft day, they didn’t mention that. I just let a cat out of the bag. … I played for Baltimore so me an Ozzie [Newsome] are cool. So he wanted to talk to Shedeur ,as well as he wanted to talk to me.
So I put Shedeur on the phone, and I don’t want to say how it went, but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, “Why in the world would I go back up Lamar [Jackson] for 10 more years?” Like, who comes in with that mindset?
Shedeur Sanders Caught Criticism From NFL Analysts for Choosing Browns Over Ravens
Deion Sanders was referencing reaction to Schefter’s initial report, which included the response to Baltimore’s interest from the Sanders camp.
“[Shedeur] Sanders knew that Jackson, a two-time MVP and one of the top players in the league, was not going to be losing his job as Baltimore’s starting quarterback anytime soon,” Schefter wrote on September 13. “So the message was conveyed to the Ravens that Sanders did not want to be drafted by Baltimore and preferred to end up in a place where he might have a better chance to play sooner.”
Shedeur Sanders caught heat around the league for spurning an organization that could have perhaps more adequately prepared him for his NFL future via practice development. Former professional signal-caller turned broadcaster Alex Smith was among the most prominent critics of the young QB.
“I think this is insane. If this is true, I think this is crazy,” Smith said during the September 14 edition of ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ on ESPN. “If you’re in this situation, you want to go to an organization that is going to develop you. Here you have the Baltimore Ravens, [and they] are the model of stability in the NFL. This regime has been together for how many decades now? Track record of developing quarterbacks — Joe Flacco, Lamar [Jackson]. Instead, you choose the Cleveland Browns because you think you have a chance to start the next year.”
Had Shedeur Sanders landed with the Eagles, he would most certainly be playing behind starter Jalen Hurts and would likely also be slotted in as QB3 behind backup Tanner McKee (currently out with a broken thumb), who several prominent insiders believe has a long future as a starting NFL quarterback in front of him.
Shedeur Sanders Ready, Waiting Patiently for Chance to Play for Browns
Shedeur Sanders hasn’t started, or even played yet, this season, and has actually been QB3 through the first three games. He is the team’s emergency quarterback, though he has technically been inactive since the year officially began earlier this month.
He is playing behind Flacco, who will start his fourth game of the year next week against the Detroit Lions, and fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who won the backup QB job during the preseason.
For his part, Shedeur Sanders has been mature and positive about his experience with the Browns thus far, saying he is soaking up everything he can and is ready for his chance to play — whenever that comes.
“Everything we do in this building, it’s a learning thing. It’s learning every day. I’m in a great position to be sitting back, understanding the game plan, understanding everything that the NFL is,” Sanders told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com for a story that ran Sunday. “I’m ready for my opportunity whenever that happens. But in this time that I’m not out there physically playing, I would say I’m growing everywhere.”
