It will be interesting to see the "condition" that results in this becoming a 3rd.

I hate to see Duke Johnson go because he’s a great character guy and a very good player but the writing was on the wall as soon as we signed Kareem Hunt.

Now we just have to hope Chubb stays healthy until week 8.

WOOOOHOOOOO ...

KJ waited and man did it ever work out ...

WOOOOHOOOOOOO ... i can't believe it ...

The frickin bears got a 6th for Howard ...

KJ WORKS MAGIC ...

Golden opportunity for Hilliard.

Who is KJ?

Would have to believe its King John

And to think people said we would get nothing for him and that is contract was a problem.

If that report is accurate it's more than I thought we would get for him.

Brutal. They have the 4th toughest schedule in the league and its first-half heavy...

Saints
Jags
Chargers
Panthers
Falcons
Chiefs
Colts
Raiders

Not sure I understand your post though, the worst they finish - the higher our pick.

It’s reported on the Browns official web site as a undisclosed unconditional trade.

This doesn't mean much to me. Each team gets 7. 2 of the 3 extra are a 6th a 7th.

Woah!!

If this end up being a 3rd, i'll be happier.

Well, we have to wait for Dorsey to "type it up" and send it over his 56k modem.

Don't forget the printed copy off the dot-matrix printer!!

This could be a factor in Dorsey getting so much value for Duke.

I think you are right.

this will be a typical Johnson stat line
this year with the Texeans in a,game

2 carries 9 yds,
3 catches 26 yds

Hopkins Fuller and KiKi will eat up most of the catches.
then you have Lamar Miller.
Duke will used but sparingly in Houston

he wasnt being used anyway. a bit overhyped, constantly getting dinged during the game.

oh well.

Yet he never missed a game.

Bill OBrian is the del facto GM of the Texans now.
Dorsey took him to the cleaners,on this trade.

You make it sound like Duke frickin Johnson was Jim Brown.

Yes, the King does it again. Fleecing the opposition in trade value. We will take the 4th rounder. Doubt we get the 3rd.

Duke will not see much playing time looking at their rb/wr depth.

Yes, the King does it again. Fleecing the opposition in trade value. We will take the 4th rounder. Doubt we get the 3rd.

Duke will not see much playing time looking at their rb/wr depth.

Taking advantage of dumb teams is always a must.

Duke went up on my fantasy draft board. He's not just a "change of pace" back in Houston.

Agreed.

Can't do draft kings here because of the damn laws.

Casinos didn't want the competition.

Ugh.

The value of the pick was greater than what Duke Johnson was going to give us on the field as a backup. This is a really good trade for us and Duke Johnson but probably not the Texans.

Hilliard will make Johnson not missed much.

--Dorsey is like a predator. He abuses the weak. He took advantage of the moron Gettleman, the chaos in the GB FO last year, the BS between Gase and Landry in Miami, and now a Houston team that doesn't currently have a GM.

This a great observation.

Hilliard did well catching the ball on the first drive, but he was pathetic in pass protection. He had one hold and it should have been two. He held the guy on the one in the first half where the dumb announcer said he did a good job.

I keep thinking "Duke Johnson Traded" means we wont have to hear about him again.

I keep being wrong.

I keep thinking "Duke Johnson Traded" means we wont have to hear about him again.

I keep being wrong.

And i was in the keep duke at least til hunt comes back camp from day 1 ... and i would have been fine keeping him all year as who knows what The future holds ...

I’m also STUNNED and THRILLED at what KJ got for him ..

John Dorsey: It was the right time to trade Duke Johnson

Charean Williams,ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports Thu, Aug 8 8:00 PM EDT


The Browns said repeatedly they were not trading Duke Johnson. They traded the running back Thursday.

“I do want to wish Duke the best,” General Manager John Dorsey said on News 5′s pregame show Thursday night, via Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal. “With regards to that, we sat; we waited; we were patient; and at the right time, there was a deal on the table that we probably should have taken.”

The Browns made the deal with the Texans despite the fact that they won’t have Kareem Hunt for the first eight games while he serves a suspension. Nick Chubb is the starter, with Dontrell Hilliard, D’Ernest Johnson and undrafted rookies A.J. Ouellette and Trayone Gray fighting to backup Chubb while Hunt is out.

“I’m very comfortable with what we have in the running back room right now, but what we do is we look all the time for all types of players,” Dorsey said. “We will not rest until we find the best 53 we possibly can.”


https://www.yahoo.com/sports/john-dorsey-time-trade-duke-000055426.html

j/c:

I wasn't very impressed w/Hilliard or the other dude...what's his name? D'Ernest Johnson?

Hilliard did well catching the ball on the first drive, but he was pathetic in pass protection. He had one hold and it should have been two. He held the guy on the one in the first half where the dumb announcer said he did a good job.

The fumble was bad. He didn't look good in-between the tackles on early down carries.

It's just one game, but he is going to have to step it up.

I think Chanderick West or whatever his name would be a good fit in Cleveland.

I think that was tipping point. I am not sure that we were in a hurry to move Duke, but once that offer came in you have to jump on it before it goes away.

Duke made himself into an outstanding pass blocker.

Duke made himself into an outstanding pass blocker.

It looks like Lamar Miller just blew out his knee.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Texans made a run at Melvin Gordon now

I think there will be some fine backs available for the Texans and they would cost a lot less than Gordon.

Another option would be Adrian Peterson if Washington was to think Guice is good to go

Without starting a new thread ... I just alluded to this in the Chubb thread, but it’s something I thougth about during the Rams game.

Do we miss Duke Johnson’s presence a little bit? He was a steady player for quite a while here ... reliable, good hands, versatile, etc. He was almost a safety valve for the QB (especially now since we don’t have that reliable TE threat to help Baker).

I didn’t think we’d miss him that much, but I’m starting to think we are.

Duke was gone the minute that Baker called him out. This is Baker's team.............for better or worse.

Duke was gone the minute that Baker called him out. This is Baker's team.............for better or worse.

Duke was gone the minute that Baker called him out. This is Baker's team.............for better or worse.

I haven't paid attention, hows Duke doing in Houston?

It was over for Duke Johnson here the moment Baker Mayfield called him out:

Mary Kay Cabot
Updated Aug 08, 2019; Posted Aug 08, 2019
12



CLEVELAND, Ohio — The moment Baker Mayfield walked up to the podium at minicamp in June and called out Duke Johnson, it was over for the running back in Cleveland.

Once you’ve lost your franchise quarterback, you’re done.

The six-month-long saga ended Thursday with Johnson being traded to the Texans on Thursday for a fourth-round pick in 2020 that can become a third if he’s active for 10 games, which is highly likely.

Mayfield is The Franchise, and almost everything in Browns Town is geared towards supporting him. Hiring Freddie Kitchens was all about Mayfield. The two developed a bond and Mayfield trusts him implicitly. The Browns made the blockbuster trade for Odell Beckham Jr. to give Mayfield a dangerous weapon. They signed Kareem Hunt in large part to give him another.

They signed third-string quarterback Garrett Gilbert in part because he and Mayfield are longtime family friends from Austin’s Lake Travis High School. Rashard Higgins has new life here because of his good friend Mayfield.

If Mayfield is no longer in your corner, it’s time for a change of scenery.

When Johnson took the podium on the first day of minicamp and said there was nothing the Browns could do to mend the fences and that he still wanted out, Mayfield listened in from the back, shaking his head.

By that time, Mayfield had spent the entire offseason grinding it out with Nick Chubb and Dontrell Hilliard, and he had no use for a player who wasn’t all in. So when he stepped up to the mic, he let Johnson have it, saying his plight with the Browns was “self-inflicted” and that “he better do his job.”

That day, the husband of Johnson’s former agent Kristin Campbell, tweeted legendary 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell, clapped back at Mayfield on Twitter.

“F— Baker Mayfield for saying that dumb s--- about Duke Johnson,” he tweeted. “I guarantee you be the one to divide this locker room up. You are not in Texas at Cracker Barrel.”

The flap was more of a distraction than the Browns needed, especially for a player who had been steadily falling out of favor with the club.
Day one of Cleveland Browns' minicamp

Duke Johnson and the Browns have reached the point of no return

It's time for the Browns to trade Johnson and eliminate the distraction.

Mayfield’s remarks also prompted some of Johnson’s best friends on the team to discuss in a players-only setting the unwritten rules of getting in a teammate’s business.

“I think we were just bringing each other together as a team,’’ linebacker Christian Kirskey told cleveland.com on July 29. “That’s all it was. It’s no problem.’’

Mayfield seemed to get the message, and by the time camp opened July 25, he said of he and Johnson “we’re good.”

But Mayfield’s remarks were indicative of how the organization felt about Johnson. The club’s faith in the 2015 third-round pick began to erode last season when he got off on the wrong foot with former offensive coordinator Todd Haley and his touches decreased considerably.

In October, he told cleveland.com, "I don’t think these games have to be as hard as they are. I think I can help this team win given more opportunities.''

Johnson frustrated by his lack of chances

Johnson got his head on straight Wednesday after chatting with the teammate who was briefly the starting quarterback.

Johnson’s playing time didn’t improve under Freddie Kitchens, and by the end of the season, his touches had decreased from 156 in 2017 to 87 in 2018. But things really went south when Browns GM John Dorsey signed Kareem Hunt in February and proclaimed that Johnson wasn’t expendable “yet.”

Johnson asked to be traded shortly thereafter, and the wheels went in motion for the trade that took place on Thursday.

Despite the Browns’ public proclamations that Johnson would be a large and valuable part of the offense in 2019, the reality was always that they’d trade him if they got the right offer — a third- or fourth-round pick.

Considering that Johnson has played in all 16 games in each of his first four seasons, the Browns are likely to get the third-rounder — a considerable haul for a running back these days.

Johnson and Mayfield got what they wanted too. Johnson got the change of scenery he’s wanted since February, and Mayfield, in bid to win a championship, no longer has a player on his offense that doesn’t want to be here.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/08...-kay-cabot.html

However, Duke was a very good receiver out of the backfield or from the line, either way, and Baker could use a good safety valve, with Njoku and Higgins injured.

I'll pin it on Baker if I like and you and the rest of the crowd can't do a damn thing about it.

However, Duke was a very good receiver out of the backfield or from the line, either way, and Baker could use a good safety valve, with Njoku and Higgins injured.

Duke Johnson active again for Texans yesterday, making it 5 games. Halfway to the 10 games needed to make that 4th round pick a 3rd.

https://twitter.com/BrownsMockDraft/status/1181657597088124930

I hate to keep bringing back this thread, but I’ve mentioned it a few times so far through 6 weeks. And last week’s turnover in the KEY part of the game to Hilliard made me immediately think: “What if that was Duke Jonson?” I still contend that we miss him to some degree. I think he was a safety valve and a reliable player ... and let’s be honest, it seems like our O is missing that reliable type threat. Yes, we have talent and yes Duke intimated that he didn’t want to be here ... but, I think he would have had a role and would have helped

This will be moot in 2 weeks.. Because Hunt replaces hilliard and Hunt is better at running/receiving than Johnson.

This will be moot in 2 weeks.. Because Hunt replaces hilliard and Hunt is better at running/receiving than Johnson.

yeah I agree .. problem is it MAY have already cost us one game. And to me, one game victory in a potential playoff year is worth more than a mid round pick

Duke for an offensive lineman, loved Duke but this works for me.

Would rather have had Duke. We probably win the Seahawks game and possibly the Rams if Duke is out there instead of Hilliard.

Now that Hunt is back it’s a moot point tho, so good to get a little more.

Only a win if Dorsey and Company make a GOOD pick.

Only a win if Dorsey and Company make a GOOD pick.

Duke might've helped us while Hunt was out. We can hypothetical this to death, but as someone who wasn't all in on the hype, I'm still applauding the long-term move.

I was totally against trading Duke Johnson but getting a third back for him is insane value.

I was totally against trading Duke Johnson but getting a third back for him is insane value.

I'm confident Dorsey and Company will make a good pick.

Yeah, I liked Duke and wanted to keep him as long as we could but in the end, this is a pretty sweet payback for us.

Excellent return.

I look at it this way. Prior to Hunts return, would Duke have impacted a game enough to help win one of the losses? Maybe, but probably not.

Fleeced them.

Ahh, they got a good guy and a good player.. he's worth a 3rd I think.

With Hunt back and already contributing, we're in a great spot now and in the future.

Do we have Hunt only this year, or through next year?

j/c

In 2017 Hunt had 1,327 rushing yards and 455 receiving yards with 11 tds.

In 2018, in 11 games, Hunt had 824 yards rushing and 378 receiving with 14 tds.

Duke Johnson is not and will never be Kareem Hunt.

Just want to tip my cap to myself for a second

We probably win the Seahawks game if we have Duke instead of Hilliard, making us 5-5 in a much better position to make the playoffs. Also might've beat the Broncos, but that's wishful thinking.

How quickly people forget all the great clutch 3rd down grabs Duke made for us.

Duke:


Hilliard:


But hey, a 3rd rounder!

I don't blame Dorsey, Duke wanted a bigger role and Kitchens wasn't giving it to him so Dorsey got what he could, but man I really like Duke Johnson.

It's a moot point now that Hunt is back, but we def were missing a dump off receiving RB threat for the first 9 games.

none of this matters.

Duke requested to be traded.

He was gone anyway. I'm glad we got someting for him.

A third rounder for a RB like Duke (as great as he was for us) is amazing. I applaud Dorsey for squeezing a 3rd out of a team for a guy that everyone knew was practically out the door. A 3rd is a big deal.

But I loved Duke too. It's very tempting to play the 'what-if' game with our losses. I'll put it out there, I bet we win the Rams game. That's one game that sticks out to me because we were oh so close. You switch a couple plays around here and there (especially 3rd downs) and you're talking about adding a score or a FG for us or even taking away points from them. One key guy might've swung that game around. Not sure about the rest, though.
As I've said before in other threads, the RB corps is way way down the list of issues with this team.

I disagree. RB probably didn't crack the top 10 list of issues with the team in those first 9 games.

Things like Freddie's playcalling, team discipline, Baker's regression, DB injuries, and the Online struggling with pass protection eclipsed any issue of who we were throwing out there at RB.

Would Duke have helped? Sure MAYBE, but you're talking about a couple extra third down conversions. Who knows, maybe we win the Rams game - And most probably not. That's all I see the needle moving with Duke.

j/c I don't think that there is a single outcome this season that Duke would have changed. He's good, and a great guy to have, but he is quite literally NOT a game-changer.

According to some of our fans, several HC's, now with two different teams, have no idea of how to use the great and wonderful talent that is Duke Johnson. And the saga continues......

According to some of our fans, several HC's, now with two different teams, have no idea of how to use the great and wonderful talent that is Duke Johnson. And the saga continues......

The short memory/revisionist history of so many people on this thread is shocking to me.

And the fact that so many people still talk about Duke Johnson is shocking to me.

That's odd. It's directly relevant to today. 3rd round draft pick. Loss of games. Why wouldn't we talk about him?

That's odd. It's directly relevant to today. 3rd round draft pick. Loss of games. Why wouldn't we talk about him?

I'd rather have the 3rd rounder and draft a player that wants to actually play for the Browns vs someone who demanded a trade.

If you read any of the news about him... he is pedestrian and the Browns fleeced the Texans.

Yeah, he's at most a third down back with a back up role everywhere he's been. How did we ever let him get away?

Not everyone who wears a Browns uniform is a superstar. And Duke fits well within that description.

I haven't been reading this thread, mostly, before today.

I wonder if the Browns had held on to Duke Johnson from the start of the season, among other things, if it would not have led to the Browns having won a couple more games and led to them being above the playoff cutoff at this point in the season.

I haven't been reading this thread, mostly, before today.

I wonder if the Browns had held on to Duke Johnson from the start of the season, among other things, if it would not have led to the Browns having won a couple more games and led to them being above the playoff cutoff at this point in the season.

For that to have happened - and for Duke to have been the difference - we'd have been relying on:
= Freddie being a better OC than he was in the games we lost but *could* have won
= Freddie being a better HC
= Baker not having regressed so badly that he was throwing everything too hard and mostly inaccurately
= The OL was playing better than it was

I don't see it. I was a huge Duke fan, loved how he always made the first tackler miss .... but he didn't want to be here and with the 4 factors above and some other issues with the team as well, I don't see how anyone thinks Duke was going to be the difference maker. Is he better than Hilliard? By miles yes, was that what decided those games? No.

We are to cute when the plays don't work. We are hero's when they do.

Just remember all plays are successful when the execution of them is perfect.

We have a very low success rate on gadget plays.. which is why there is the frustration... we are marching the ball down the field just fine then run a gadget play and lose yardage or do something stupid.. if things are working, just keep doing them until they aren't working any more.

We have a very low success rate on gadget plays.. which is why there is the frustration... we are marching the ball down the field just fine then run a gadget play and lose yardage or do something stupid.. if things are working, just keep doing them until they aren't working any more.

Yet almost every team does the same thing. You know damn well that if we never ran any trick or gadget plays that the fans would have been crying and screaming about that.

Just remember all plays are successful when the execution of them is perfect.

We have a very low success rate on gadget plays.. which is why there is the frustration... we are marching the ball down the field just fine then run a gadget play and lose yardage or do something stupid.. if things are working, just keep doing them until they aren't working any more.

none of this matters.

Duke requested to be traded.

He was gone anyway. I'm glad we got someting for him.

We have a very low success rate on gadget plays.. which is why there is the frustration... we are marching the ball down the field just fine then run a gadget play and lose yardage or do something stupid.. if things are working, just keep doing them until they aren't working any more.

Duke is what he is...think Theo Reddick.

Nothing wrong with that. It is what it is.

Some of you make him sound like the second coming of Jim Brown.

He is a role playing RB. Not a starter. Never has been and never will be. But some people seem to really get into that type of thing. Some of you make him sound like the second coming of Jim Brown. He was replaced with a much better and more proven player. People should quit carrying on about the inferior back we had before Hunt.

We actually upgraded and people still keep droning on.

You are right, that hunt is better than Duke, no argument there.

But I would say that trading duke has cost us AT least 1 game this year (sea I think it was when Hillard dropped an easy catch into the hands of a defender), which at this moment, could very well cost us the playoffs.

If we had the choice to keep duke this year, and make the playoffs - or trade duke for a 3rd (I think that's what we got) and not make the playoffs. Give me the playoffs.

Then again, had Hunt been available all year, he would probably still be with KC.

In the end, we don't miss Duke and he is still doing in Houston what he did here.

Duke is what he is...think Theo Reddick.

Nothing wrong with that. It is what it is.

To me .. The way the TEAM played in the Tennessee game .. and the 49ers game come closer to costing us the Playoffs than trading Duke. Not any one player has cost us anything. The lack of discipline and entirely too many penalties play a larger role than Hilliard replacing Duke.

can someone please light a match to this thread and close it down?

Better yet... we can fire up another Couch vs Holcomb thread.