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Earlier this week, Dianna Russini, Zack Rosenblatt and Michael Silver released a wild report in The Athletic about New York Jets owner Woody Johnson nixing a trade with the Denver Broncos earlier this year.
In the story, Jets general manager Joe Douglas was said to be “deep in negotiations” with Broncos general manager George Paton on a trade that would have sent wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to New York this spring.
Here’s what happened next, according to The Athletic:
The Broncos felt a deal was near. Then, abruptly, it all fell apart. In Denver’s executive offices, they couldn’t believe the reason why.
Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in “Madden NFL,” the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources. The Broncos ultimately traded the receiver to the Cleveland Browns.
Jeudy had a Madden rating of 83 overall in last year’s version of the popular NFL video game. His rating improved to 84 this year.
Jeudy took to Twitter/X with a funny response to the report:
I blame
@ochocinco
— Jerry Jeudy⁴ (@jerryjeudy) December 19, 2024
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Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson is a Madden ratings adjuster (yes, that’s an actual position). The former NFL receiver indicated that the deal getting nixed worked out for Jeudy in the end:
It’s a good thing, look how you shining now.
https://t.co/OqcdkHrWYj
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) December 19, 2024
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Johnson promised a big ratings increase next year if Jeudy finishes the season strong:
95 rating next year, just finish these next 3 games off strong twin. https://t.co/A9o4cMu14s
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) December 19, 2024
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Jeudy later said on a Cleveland radio station that he thinks the report is funny, but fake news.
For what it’s worth, the Broncos have pushed back on The Athletic report through KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis, who tweeted on Thursday that “from the Broncos perspective, talks broke down due to draft compensation and nothing more.”
Jeudy, 25, has hauled in a career-high 70 receptions for a career-best 1,052 receiving yards and four touchdowns through 14 games with the Browns this season.