The Los Angeles Rams entered the season with Super Bowl expectations. After a rough start, they now enter Week 7 with a 2-4 record, sitting in third place in the NFC West division. Yet, general manager Les Snead is never afraid to make a move and shake up his roster.
As the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline approaches, surely Snead is getting the itch to act. One trade partner who could make some sense is the Cleveland Browns. While they’re sitting pretty at 4-2, the two teams could have an expendable player who can help each other.
Related: 1 NFL Player From Each Team Who Will Disappoint in Week 7, Including Sam Darnold
Could Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns Have Interest in Stetson Bennett-Jerry Jeudy Swap?
While first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken made it clear that everyone would get a fresh start as he took over in Cleveland, that’s been evident as Deshaun Watson has not only led all six games, but has performed better than expected. However, there have been some growing pains (completed 52.5% of his passes in the past two games), and the 31-year-old is on an expiring contract. In other words, the Browns’ QB future is a bit murky, even if they have three others in the organization.
Still, while the young QBs on the Browns roster are unknown commodities, coach Monken may be one of the coaches who holds Stetson Bennett IV in high regard. After all, Monken was Bennett’s offensive coordinator/QB coach at Georgia from 2020 to 2022, when the QB led them to two CFP National Championships. Could they try to reunite in the NFL?
It’s a question that ESPN’s NFL insider Dan Graziano recently considered while evaluating the Rams’ lack of trade capital. Though, dangling someone who may be expendable like Bennett to a team that may value him more than others like Cleveland could provide a path to a roster upgrade in Los Angeles.
“Could the Rams make a player-for-player swap of some sort? Would a team be interested in backup QB Stetson Bennett IV if the Rams decide rookie Ty Simpson is ready to be Matthew Stafford’s backup? (Todd Monken coached Bennett in college — I’m just saying.) Anyway, even with a 2-4 record, four games out of first place in their division, Adams out and Garrett likely out another two or three weeks at least, this is a Rams team that had the highest of hopes for 2026 and still believes it can play well enough to salvage this season.”
Dan Graziano on Los Angeles Rams Trade Rumors
Well, if the Browns have some semblance of interest in Bennett, one player who could intrigue the Rams and possibly even be of similar value is Jerry Jeudy. The Rams have a greater need to add to their receiver room following last week’s Davante Adams injury. After rupturing his hamstring, the Rams’ Pro Bowl receiver is expected to miss anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks. Surely, the Rams will have a response, and Jeudy could be part of the solution.
After making Ty Simpson a first-round pick back in April, the Rams clearly don’t view the 28-year-old Bennett as their QB of the future. Plus, now that he’s in the final year of his contract, it makes sense for the Rams to shop him to another team before letting him leave in free agency without getting anything but consideration toward their compensatory pick formula in return.
Meanwhile, Jeudy is somehow still just 27 years old. While the one-time Pro Bowler’s production has trailed off in recent years, the Browns are like the Rams in that they’ve drafted to replace the former first-round pick. Back in April, the Browns spent a first-round pick on receiver K.C. Concepcion and a second-rounder on Denzel Boston. Now Boston is leading the team with 345 receiving yards, and Concepcion leads the team in targets.
With Jeudy ranking fifth on the team in targets, behind second-year tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and running back Quinshon Judkins, it appears he’s fallen out of favor in Cleveland, but perhaps a change of scenery to Los Angeles could get him back on track.
Jeudy’s 33-yard reception helped set up a game-winning field goal for Cleveland last week, so it’s not like he’s completely out of the picture, but quarterbacks tend to hold value, so it’s possible Bennett would be an intriguing enough piece to get the Browns to bite. Jeudy is coming off a season-high 69-yard game performance, but has just 150 yards on the season. Last year, he recorded 602 yards, averaging a career-low 35.4 yards per game, and now those numbers have dwindled down to 25 YPG. Chances are, he’d be more than open to a change of scenery, and the Rams may present the perfect opportunity in a pass-heavy offense with Matthew Stafford feeding Puka Nacua and him the ball.