Cleveland rocks
Fans have real reason to cheer once again
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns returned as an expansion team in 1999. They became a real one Tuesday night.
It only took 20 mostly tortuous years — and one tremendous trade.
With a shocking, blockbuster deal for superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns flipped the NFL on its helmet and instantaneously changed their national perception. They’re the talk of the league, and for the first time in forever, it’s for the right reasons.
No longer a punching bag, the Browns are punching back. From hopeless to hope-filled. Finally.
Shortly after the league’s free-agent signing period and its new calendar year opened on Wednesday, the Browns made their acquisition of Beckham from the Giants official. It’s a done deal, and it’s starting to sink in for Cleveland’s impassioned and pained fan base, which has been waiting decades for its beloved football team to return to glory.
The Browns acquired Beckham and defensive end Olivier Vernon in exchange for guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabrill Peppers, a 2019 first-round pick (No. 17 overall) and a third-rounder (No. 95).
Beckham makes Cleveland cooler, the Browns a must-watch on TV, and in the words of quarterback Baker Mayfield, “dangerous.”
One-handed catches. Prime-time matchups. Sold-out games. The Browns changed overnight.
In landing Beckham, one of the game’s most electrifying players, Cleveland has risen from unimaginable depths in just a year. The Browns were coming off a historic 0-16 season last March, still searching for an elusive franchise quarterback and were prepared to enter the 2018 season with coach Hue Jackson, who had guided them to a 1-31 record over two seasons.
They were the league’s laughingstocks. General manager John Dorsey has turned the tables. He began strategically plotting a run at Beckham in December, and seemingly came out of nowhere to deliver a blindside blow.
“He’s probably if not the one, one or two best receivers in the National Football League,” Dorsey said. “Very rarely do you get a chance to acquire a player of this magnitude. He’s at a relatively young age. He’s got a lot of football left in him. Great hands, great work ethic, committed, competitive, he really wants to be great. And that’s all you can ask for.”