It is safe to say that there is no love lost for the Denver Broncos as far as former first-round pick and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is concerned.
Jeudy asked for and was granted a trade during the 2024 offseason, with the Broncos sending him to the Cleveland Browns for fourth and sixth-round picks in the 2024 draft. He is set for his first game against the team that selected him No. 18 overall in the 2021 draft in Week 13.
Jeudy is looking forward to the opportunity.
“My feelings?” Jeudy told TheLandOnDemand’s Tony Grossi in a conversation published on November 29. “I just want to go back up there and whip their ass.”
Jeudy gave a more subdued answer during his media availability on Friday, November 29. He still noted that he was eager to get a wing against his former team, citing the “competitive nature” of athletes as the source.
Jeudy is having a resurgent season, tracking to finish the campaign with would-be career–highs of 996 receiving yards and 69 receptions. He caught 54 passes for 758 yards in 16 games during the 2023 season.
He has also already matched his 2 touchdowns from last season.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton forecasted Marvin Mims to assume much of the workload Jeudy vacated. That has not happened and the Broncos have lacked a consistent WR2.
“I got tremendous amount of faith in my abilities and what I can do,” Jeudy told Grossi. “There’s a lot I can’t control. But what I can control, I know I’m going to do my best to be the best version of myself. If ain’t working in Denver, it’s gonna work somewhere else, for sure.”
What bothered Jeudy most, though, was all of the losing and lack of opportunities.
“We ain’t never won nothing,” Jeudy said. “We never go to the playoffs. Been a few frustrating years. Now I’m here.
“Five years a long time to be patient. I’m not going to say they didn’t get me the ball for five years. Some years I had a few drops, like my rookie year. Other years there were a whole bunch of circumstances I can’t control.”
Jeudy said a win over the Broncos would “mean a lot.”
The Browns have not won in Denver since 2018 and have just one win there since Cleveland returned as a franchise. The Browns are still looking to make the playoffs this season too.
Jerry Jeudy Gets Honest About Pat Surtain II
GettyPat Surtain II #2 of the Denver Broncos looks on against the New York Jets.
Jeudy was also asked about former Broncos teammate Pat Surtain II, who is also his childhood friend and was his collegiate teammate at Alabama and who he figures to see plenty of on Sunday.
Surtain is having another stellar season and Jeudy knows it will be a battle on the field.
“I’m excited about getting to really go up against him,” Jeudy told the media. “It’s going to be a fun matchup. I’ve known Pat since little league; been competing against him damn near my whole life. So to finally get the opportunity to go against him at this big stage, it’s going to be fun.
“What makes him special is just – is how smart he is. He’s long, he’s fas. For a big dude, he knows how to get out of his breaks, so that’s what makes him special.”
Surtain has allowed 50% completion on 36 targets through 11 games this season, per Pro Football Reference.
Jerry Jeudy: Relationship With Sean Payton ‘Cool’
GettyHead coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos congratulates wide receiver Jerry Jeudy #10 after a touchdown reception against the Arizona Cardinals.
Despite a seemingly contentious ending to his tenure, Jeudy insisted that there were no hard feelings because he got what he wanted in the end.
He also said that he and Payton were “cool.”
“It didn’t hurt at all because [the trade was] what I wanted. But [the relationship with Payton] was cool,” Jeudy said during his presser. “I wanted to finish where I started at. But I just felt like I needed a first start, a new atmosphere. And now I’m here and I’m excited about that
Jeudy cited the changes to the roster the Broncos ended up making as another reason he requisite a trade.
He also said he felt limited in the Broncos’ offense under Payton in 2023.
Jeudy did say his piece of advice to his teammate was to hit the altitude simulation equipment in preparation.
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