Zack Moss, DOnta Foreman and possible RB options for Browns ahead of trade deadline

April 25, 2024

Jordan Wilkins was in his living room in Memphis Monday morning when his phone rang. The Cleveland Browns wanted him back.

Two flights and about 12 hours later, he was back in Cleveland and a signature away from joining the practice squad. This Sunday, Wilkins will be called up to the active roster to play in Seattle as the Browns’ third running back.

Cleveland’s quarterback crisis is making the headlines. With Jerome Ford out at least one game due to a high ankle sprain, the Browns also have to worry about the state of their running backs — and might need to address it ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.

The Browns lost All-Pro running back Nick Chubb in Week 2. Two days later, they brought Kareem Hunt back. Ford became the feature back, Hunt the primary short-yardage player and Pierre Strong Jr., who was just acquired in a late August trade, was pressed into fourth-quarter action following Chubb’s injury.

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Six weeks later, Hunt is coming off a two-touchdown game that included the game winner in Indianapolis, but he’s battling through an injury. Strong played on the game-winning drive and logged a career-high eight carries against the Colts. Strong now has 21 carries on the season. For now, Wilkins is catching back up on the playbook. He first joined the Browns in mid-August after Ford’s hamstring injury. Wilkins started the preseason finale with the Browns’ No. 1 offense, but after being involved in two botched exchanges with quarterback Deshaun Watson, he was cut the next day — the same day Cleveland traded for Strong.

Hunt has 25 touches over the Browns’ last two games and has averaged 3.5 yards per carry in that time. As evidenced by his game-winning touchdown run on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, the Browns trust him in short-yardage situations. But they probably don’t — and shouldn’t — believe Hunt is going to take on an extended workload as the season progresses, which is why exploring outside options is a must. Hunt wasn’t sure he’d be able to play last week due to a thigh injury, and he also sat out Wednesday’s practice because of it. He was a limited participant on Thursday. Hunt also landed on the injury report following his Browns debut in Week 3 with rib and groin injuries and was managed through the practice week.

Ford’s exact timetable is unclear. Regardless of who’s playing quarterback, the Browns are going to have to run the ball to win in November and December. With just over a third of the season in the books, they have already seen the importance of having reinforcements available.

Who might they be able to acquire ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline in hopes of fortifying the run game? I have a few ideas …

The Browns just saw Moss run 18 times for 57 yards against them last week as part of the Colts’ running-back-by-committee approach. Moss has been a key figure for the Colts’ offense to this point, but Indianapolis should be looking toward the future. The Colts signed Jonathan Taylor to an expensive new contract earlier this month after Taylor missed the first four games and didn’t get the full workload in his first two weeks back.

The Colts acquired Moss at the trade deadline last year after he’d fallen out of the rotation in Buffalo, but he has shown this season that he can be an effective runner and pass catcher. Moss, 25, is only under contract for the rest of this season. He’s averaging 4.6 yards per carry and has had at least 18 rushing attempts in five of the six games he’s played this year.

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Foreman just had a three-touchdown game last week, so it’s fair to wonder if he would be available. But Foreman was a healthy scratch earlier in the season when Chicago’s backfield was healthy, and if the Bears can’t beat the Los Angeles Chargers this week with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent playing quarterback, they’ll fall to 2-6.

The Bears are expecting rookie runner Roschon Johnson back this week from the concussion protocol, and starter Khalil Herbert is eligible to return from injured reserve in early November. The Bears are playing for next year, and Foreman is on a one-year deal.

Foreman is on his third team in three years, but he’s averaging 4.4 yards per carry since the start of 2021. At 235 pounds, he’s the kind of back who could help the Browns in December, even if Ford returns relatively soon, and even if Strong can produce while Ford is out.

Patterson, 32, is a hybrid player who opened the 2022 season as the Falcons’ starting running back. Early in his career, he was a wide receiver and one of the league’s most dangerous kickoff returners. He’s a four-time first-team All-Pro return specialist who has nine career kickoff return touchdowns.

What is he now? And how would he fit with the Browns? Cleveland needs more offensive pop, regardless of what position delivers it, and it also needs a punt returner. But Patterson only has one punt return in his career, and that was in 2016.

At 4-3, the Falcons are leading the NFC South and eying a return to the playoffs. But Patterson has a base salary of $4.25 million in the final year of his deal, and he’s been only a part-time player to this point. Patterson has only played in four games for Atlanta this season, and he’s only had more than one touch in two of those games. He got 10 carries last week when starter Bijan Robinson was limited due to an illness, but he’s participated in just 42 offensive snaps and 21 on special teams.

With prized rookie Bijan Robinson leading the Falcons’ backfield, Cordarrelle Patterson’s usage has been limited this season. (Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)

On the surface, it’s a fit because D’Ernest Johnson knows the Browns, knows the offense and has delivered as an emergency backup before. Cleveland let Johnson walk in free agency, and though he showed in 2021 that he’s a capable runner when called upon, he had limited opportunities last season.

The Jaguars should be back in the playoffs. Rookie running back Tank Bigsby has struggled as the primary backup to Travis Etienne, so Jacksonville won’t just give Johnson away. It takes two willing participants to make a trade, and it’s hard to see why the Jaguars would bail on Johnson unless the Browns are willing to overpay.

Rashaad Penny has three carries this season for the Philadelphia Eagles and has only played in one game. Maybe they’re keeping Penny in case he’s needed later, or perhaps the Browns could pry him away as an emergency option.

Given the uncertainty surrounding Watson’s shoulder injury and the overall state of the offense, I don’t see the Browns giving up the kind of capital it would take to land a running back like Derrick Henry or Josh Jacobs. Perhaps I’m wrong — and perhaps that’s actually the best option for this offense headed to the back half of the season — but with Watson saying Thursday that surgery has not been discussed and that he believes he’ll be back at some point this year, I think the Browns are more looking for complementary, low-cost pieces who could end up helping later in the season.

You’ll probably notice they’re not running backs. Good catch! Both are wide receivers, and both have established relationships with Watson.

Like everything else about this Watson situation, it’s complicated. The Browns’ pass game has been disjointed and disappointing outside of a few big moments from Amari Cooper. There probably just hasn’t been enough opportunity to evaluate this pass offense under Watson, which makes it hard to know if another wide receiver is needed.

It’s difficult to see the Browns adding a wide receiver given their offseason investments in the position. But Watson publicly campaigned for Cleveland to add Hopkins in the spring before he signed with the Titans. Now, Tennessee appears to be a trade-deadline seller. In 2021, Renfrow caught 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns for the Raiders. This year, Watson’s former Clemson teammate has eight receptions for 73 yards, and he has played just 50 total offensive snaps over the last three games.

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Hopkins and Renfrow are under contract for 2024. Their current teams might have to take on some of that money to facilitate a trade. It seems unlikely the Browns would seriously pursue either right now, but if they’re counting on having Watson return for the back half of the season, they could continue their two-year theme of trying to get him comfortable.

If Watson isn’t going to be back, the Browns have to seriously consider adding a quarterback. We went over some scenarios involved with that on Tuesday.

(Top photo of Zack Moss: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)

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