The Cleveland Browns are 4-2 after Week 6, a spot almost nobody projected them to be in this early in the season. Cleveland is coming off a win over the Baltimore Ravens, and that result moved the Browns to 2-0 in AFC North play.

With the Browns sitting at 4-2, it’s hard to see them becoming sellers at the NFL trade deadline. If Cleveland did go that route, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is the name that has come up the most as a trade candidate. Even so, selling off Jeudy makes little sense now ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline, and his quarterback just made the case for keeping him.

Jerry Jeudy came up big against the Ravens

Jeudy is coming off his best game of the season against Baltimore. He finished with four catches for 69 yards, including a 33-yard reception in the fourth quarter on the Browns’ game-winning drive. That catch helped Cleveland close out the Ravens and stay perfect in the division.

Now as the team prepared for the Tennessee Titans, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson had a strong comment to make about his receiver. 

“He’s a true professional,” Watson said. “He comes in each and every day, head up, smiling, encouraging everyone, encouraging himself, and he just puts the work in. He knew his opportunities were going to come, and it’s been there. He’s been able to take advantage of it. Everyone sees it. So that’s why you see the love and the happiness for the team because everyone sees the type of person he is off the field, but also the type of teammate and the work he puts in. Everyone loves to see the success that he’s having.”

Jeudy’s numbers are down in 2026, but still has a role 

There’s no getting around the drop in production. Jeudy has 12 catches for 150 yards and no touchdowns this season. That’s well off the pace of the 602 receiving yards he posted a year ago.

Those 602 yards were also roughly half of what he did in 2024. In his first season with the Browns, Jeudy made the Pro Bowl with 1,229 receiving yards and four touchdown catches. It was the kind of year that made him look like a long-term piece in Cleveland.

The receiver room looks a lot different now. Jeudy is clearly the No. 3 wideout behind rookies Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion. Both first-year players have stepped into bigger roles, and that’s pushed Jeudy down the pecking order.

Yes, Jeudy is a high-paid No. 3 receiver. However, there’s nothing wrong with the Browns keeping him around this year. Cleveland doesn’t need the money for anything in particular right now, and the team is ahead of schedule in terms of winning games this season.

If the Browns don’t plan to keep Jeudy in the future, they can explore moving him next year. That option will still be on the table once the season is over.

Additionally, Jeudy still has value to this team on the field. He’s now been important in the fourth quarter of two AFC North wins, against the Steelers and the Ravens. It’s hard to say Cleveland wins either of those games without the timely catches he made late against Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

For a team that’s 2-0 in the division and trying to stay in the race, that matters. A veteran who delivers in big moments is worth more to a winning team than whatever return he might bring at the deadline.

Jeudy’s numbers are down, but he’s still buying in on what the Browns are doing. Watson’s comments show that. The next few weeks will tell whether Cleveland keeps winning, but as long as it does, it’s tough to see Jeudy going anywhere before Nov. 10.