Now that Braylon Edwards Has Been Traded to Jets, are Browns Ready to Take Off?

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

In one of the least surprising moves of the week, Braylon Edwards has been traded to the New York Jets.

I don’t think it’s even surprising who Edwards was traded to. Head coach Eric Mangini seems to have a very good relationship with his former employer, and he’s certainly familiar with the Jets roster.

In return for Edwards, the Browns received wide receiver Chansi Stuckey and linebacker Jason Trusnik. The Browns also received two undisclosed draft picks.

Edwards definitely had worn out his welcome in Cleveland, with his inability to catch a football being the primary reason.

However, his off-field issues seemed to be mounting after the altercation Sunday night outside a Cleveland night club with a club employee, who also just happened to be a friend of Cavs superstar LeBron James.

Note to anyone in Cleveland: Don’t mess with LeBron James or any of his friends. You will lose that battle.

Despite the off-field issues Edwards always seemed to have, his solid-brick hands on the field and his lackadaisical approach to running routes ultimately was what killed his career in Cleveland.

Mangini is not the type of coach who tolerates players who don’t give their all on the field, and as rookie receiver Mohamed Massaquoi caught more passes this past Sunday, it was apparent that Edwards decided to take his ball and go home.

It should come as no surprise that Derek Anderson stopped looking in Edwards’ direction after the first quarter and the dropped pass that hit him right between the numbers.

Even more damning for Edwards was his attitude toward the other players and fans—because to listen to Edwards was to listen to a man so caught up in his own hype, he refused to admit he could be part of the problem.

He wanted all the benefits of being an NFL player, but never seemed willing to work toward those benefits on the field. It was a classic example of a person's own ego shortcutting the necessary process.

Edwards famously cited his collegiate career in Michigan as the reason Cleveland fans, many of whom also are Ohio State fans, didn’t like him. This accusation didn’t endear him any further with the fan base as it was based in his own narrow view of things.

If he would've caught a few more touchdown passes, trust me, the fans in Cleveland wouldn't have cared if he came from the deepest layers of the abyss.

Ironically, Edwards now will face New York fans and the New York media, who will make Cleveland look like amateurs when it comes to criticism.

There are two questions facing Cleveland right now in this trade:

How will the receivers be ranked?

What kind of draft picks will they receive from the Jets?

Stuckey may very well come to Cleveland and be designated the No. 1 receiver. Massaquoi probably already has earned the No. 2 spot with Joshua Cribbs being focused more on special teams again. After that, it’s a crapshoot.

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