Rome Odunze has been the Chicago Bears‘ best wide receiver this season with 473 yards and five touchdowns. He was great in Baltimore with seven catches for 114 yards. However, things didn’t quite go as planned last week in Cincinnati. Odunze failed to make a catch, getting blanked for the first time in his career. Thankfully, the Bears got huge contributions from other players, particularly tight end Colston Loveland. Still, that frustrating afternoon didn’t sit well with at least one notable person.
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One fan called out the Bears for not getting Odunze the ball more, even suggesting they trade him if they won’t use him. James Odunze, Rome’s father, seemed to agree with that statement.
Needless to say, given the nature of social media, this caused controversy. Despite Odunze being the most targeted player on the roster this season, some wondered if he was somehow frustrated with his role. That or his father was stirring the pot for no reason. The Bears seemed to feel it was the latter, and they decided to fire a shot in response. They put up a video of Odunze mic’d up during the Bengals game, where he looked outstanding as a blocker. The title of the video was one word.
The Bears love Rome Odunze. That never changed.
However, head coach Ben Johnson said that sometimes a game plan necessitates the ball going elsewhere. Such was the case against Cincinnati. The Bengals used their best cornerback, D.J. Turner, to shadow Rome Odunze all over the field. Rather than force-feed the ball to him anyway, Johnson decided to spread it elsewhere. Loveland, D.J. Moore, and Olamide Zaccheaus all took advantage. You can’t fault the logic. Chicago scored 47 points. Don’t be surprised if the Bears come back around to Rome this week against the New York Giants.
That is football. It is a team sport. Sometimes, your best players can’t have as much impact on the game as they would like. It doesn’t mean the team hates them. It means others must pick up the slack. Odunze could’ve easily gotten frustrated and moped about it. Instead, he threw all of that energy into making the Bengals pay on the ground. That is what good teammates do. Kudos to the team for defending itself in this instance.
Three trades the Cleveland Browns should make at NFL trade deadline
During the bye week, the Browns have plenty to try to figure out. A golden opportunity has presented itself though, with the trade deadline coming up on November 4th.
Cleveland would have the time to make some deals now, and get the new roster to adjust without being thrown straight into the fire. The Browns already made splashes by trading Joe Flacco and Greg Newsome, and shouldn’t be shy now. Here are three players who the Browns should consider trading.
Jerome Ford
Ford is the odd man out in the Browns’ running back room. Before Quinshon Judkins could play, rookie Dylan Sampson heavily outplayed Ford in week one. It looked like the rest of the season would be played with Judkins as the starter, Sampson as the backup and Ford as a rotational piece.
Instead, over the next few weeks Ford found his way onto the field more consistently than Sampson. Especially in third-and-long situations, something the offense experiences a lot.
Ford is an excellent pass blocker, and has good hands for checkdowns, but lacks the speed or agility to make a play after the catch. Ford has always been good for an occasional explosive play, but struggles when he’s relied on more consistently.
The other roles Ford has been in is as a kick returner and a red zone weapon. The special teams haven’t been great. Ford isn’t bad there, but the drop off between him and a young wide receiver wouldn’t be drastic. In the red zone, the Browns are desperate for a power back. Judkins has been too small to punch touchdowns in often, and the Browns don’t have the quarterback for a sneak or tush push.
The Browns should take the chance to find someone who can bulldoze their way forward for one yard.
Moving off of Ford would be the right decision in Cleveland. It would force the offense to begin bringing Sampson in as the pass-catching back, where he has been consistently more explosive. Sampson needs more reps as a blocker, and more chances to show what he’s capable of in the open field.
Ford may not be able to catch much value in the market, but there are still teams beat up at the running back positions (LA Chargers or Arizona Cardinals). If the opportunity is there, Cleveland needs to take it.
Wyatt Teller
The offensive line hasn’t been good, and Teller is just getting older. It’s a contract year for him, and seems unlikely the Browns will be bringing him back.
The Browns drafted Zak Zinter in the second round of last season, and brought in Teven Jenkins in free agency. Jenkins is on just a one year deal though. The Browns might as well see what they have in those two guards, and it’s also better to get value for a player that won’t be back next season anyways.
David Njoku
The Browns have a serious decision to make with Njoku, and it will really reveal where the front office believes this team is right now. Njoku needs a new contract, and the Browns don’t have much money to give.
They already opted to send out Newsome for a similar issue, he was facing a contract year and rather than paying him, they got some value with a new, cheaper corner.
The Browns already have a new, cheaper tight end in rookie Harold Fannin Jr. Fannin leads the team in yards and catches this season, being a safety net for both Flacco and Dillon Gabriel. Njoku hasn’t been bad, being second on the team in both those stats, but he’s still been outplayed by the rookie.
Now Cleveland needs to be honest, is there enough money free to lock Njoku up for the next few seasons before the trade deadline hits, and would it even be worth it to keep an aging tight end on a team that may not be competitive soon?
If the answer is no to either question, Cleveland should look to bring in value. Njoku is one of the few players who will bring serious value in the trade market. It would hurt the fan base to lose one of Cleveland’s best pass catchers since they returned, but if the value is there, it may be too hard to pass up.
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