There are people who wanted out of Dodge, and then there is Jerry Jeudy wanting out of Denver. After four seasons playing for the Denver Broncos, the former Alabama star wide receiver had enough of this dog and pony show in the Rocky Mountains. Jeudy was then traded over to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth and a sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft way back in early March.

Jeudy wanted out in Denver entering last season, but his trade request was not heard by new head coach Sean Payton. It is amazing what a year makes because Payton made it possible for Jeudy to get traded to Cleveland earlier this offseason. Looking to prove himself in a new spot, Jeudy revealed the following to Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette just what all that went into him being traded.

Jeudy made it a point to say this wasn’t a one-off thing, as he thought about being traded for a while.

“It didn’t come out of the blue at all. I’m the one that decided that. I made the decision to come (to Cleveland) and I’m excited with my decision. … I actually came up to (the Broncos) and asked that I wanted a new atmosphere, a new change of scenery. I just wanted to go somewhere else and have a new feel and a new atmosphere.”

Jeudy then said that there was nothing that could have convince Payton to trade him last season.

“At the beginning of the season, I asked Sean for it. I asked Sean for a trade and he said no. … Sean was like, ‘We love you and we want you here.’ He was not going to trade me, basically.”

This seems like it was wait and see how you feel about it in a year before making any real changes.

“After the year, they told me they knew my frustrations and they understood, like, what I want to do and want to begin. They understood everything and agreed to (a trade).”

Jeudy apparently still wanted out. Cleveland was one of the teams Denver had interest with, too.

“They gave me a few teams. I had been hearing Cleveland had been trying to get me for a while and if a team had been trying to get me for a while, they really want me and are really going utilize me for my abilities. So I just came here.”

Now that Jeudy plays for a different team, we can only hope he gets back to what he was coming out.

I get former star college players like Jeudy end up going to difficult situations right from the jump. Wide receiver is a dependent position, one that hinges entirely on quarterback play. One thing the Broncos have gotten more wrong than right in recent years has been quarterback play. For Jeudy to want out even before day one of Payton’s first season leading the team tells me everything to know.

The Broncos are long overdue for a reboot. Maybe Payton or Bo Nix will be the reasons for that? More importantly, Jeudy is not going to be a part of any of that because he no longer plays in Denver. What I am wondering is if good quarterback play is what Jeudy has been looking for, did he really upgrade by going to Cleveland from Denver? Deshaun Watson has so much to prove this year for Cleveland.

Truth be told, I think it is best that both parties went their separate ways. Jeudy may have gone to a more likely playoff contender in the AFC with Cleveland, while Denver seems to be all about ushering in yet a new era of Broncos football. This year is all about Nix in Denver anyway. It is not all about Jeudy in Cleveland, but he can play a part in Watson having his best pro season since at least 2020.

There is pressure to be had on all parties in this situation from Denver, to Cleveland, to even Jeudy…