DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Duke Johnson asks to be traded

The release of 2019 schedule might be important factor. I think it's April 19th.

Funny but I asked this very same question earlier in this thread... Don't remember getting an answer.

j/c:

I was reading about how the Cowboys are going to be looking for a #2 RB and I once again thought of Duke Johnson.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cowboys-going-looking-no-2-104939924.html

I think there is a good chance that Duke will be traded the night before--or during the draft--this year.

As discussed earlier, I hope it is for a player rather than a late round draft pick. I brought up Sean Lee's name earlier and I think he could be of some help for us.

just me, but I'd rather hold onto him for his salary instead of getting a 5th round pick or whatever, especially whne Hunt's out

Dukes value to the Browns is I'm sure a lot higher than any value he has in the league when it comes to trades.

With that being said, I'm sure there is a chance we trade Duke during the draft. I'd like to assume if we make a deal then, it must be a pretty good deal (better than low draft pick) for both teams involved.

If the deal isn't great, I'd keep him until the trade deadline. We may only get a 5th or 6th round pick, but he'll contribute to the teams success until then.

Again, Duke is an asset to this team. I hope we use him for as long as we have him. And personally, I'd like to hold on to him as long as possible.

I've said Duke would be a draft day trade from the time we signed Hunt. Has to be a win-win for both teams and it depends on each teams board. I see us swapping our 4th for a higher 4th or low 3rd.

i mean we could do that, but I just don't see it from a logical standpoint ... I'd hold onto him unless we got a REALLY nice offer, which I doubt

once howard got traded for basically a ham sandwich, Duke because worthless in a trade. He still has value to the team..much more so than a 6th or 7th pick in a future draft.

I think it goes a long way to send a message to players around the league that if a player wants to be traded, that a team facilitate a trade. Sending a message to players across the NFL if you want to be traded but the Browns will hold you hostage, isn't a message you want to send.

I don't think that means you should give a player away, but you really need to work on granting him his way out of town if that's what he wants. The NFL isn't like most jobs. It's not like there's a huge pool of employees to pick from. Sending the proper message to players across the league is worth more than some may wish to acknowledge.

I'm not sure paying $7 million for an oft injured, 32 year old LB who had been contemplating retirement is a good return for Duke.

Sean Lee retirement talk link

I'm not completely disregarding the idea. I'm just not sure how much he has left.

I'm not sure if Dallas has anybody else we might be interested in or not.

Don't think we'd be interested in Gregory after the Gordon saga, and I'm not even sure if you can trade for a suspended player.

Not a lot of other names jump out at me.

No Pitt, I don't agree players run from failure not from being held hostage.

I certainly understand and I think even Duke would say he understands if the Browns hold on to him while waiting for Hunt to come off suspension.

The Browns IMO need to hold onto Duke and trade him when it makes sense for the Browns to do so. He will be a valuable asset until Hunt returns, then maybe not so much.

Well there's certainly two ways to look at it. I don't discount the other side in the way you proposed it.

I just look at it this way. You can refuse to honor his wishes which sends a message to players across the league. IMO this may be a factor whether they wish to come to Cleveland. That may have a negative future impact. It seems to me Dorsey has tried to make Cleveland the most attractive place for players to come in the short time span he has had to work with. To me this would send the opposite message.

Or, you can look at the very short term and do what's right for the moment and not look at the big picture of the message you are sending around the league.

I think I did address the fact that I agree we just shouldn't give him away. That wouldn't be smart either. But if you can find a deal that is reasonable, the sooner the better I think would be the best conclusion to reach for a player who doesn't want to be here.

I'm not sure I understand your "rum from failure" comment.

First let me say that I love Duke and would love to keep him, but I feel Dorsey like's Hilliard a lot and of course Hunt comes back in week 9, so IMO Duke will get traded just before the draft or as a chip to move up in the late 1st early 2nd if the player Dorsey wants is there. Nevertheless Duke will be traded … JMHO

Duke's value is probably a conditional 5th to 7th rounder

And that is why a player for player trade would make much more sense.

Based on your thoughts that the Cowboys could be in play for Duke, I would agree a player for player might be in the mix. I don't think Dallas has a lot of picks this year. I know they already traded their 1st rounder.

I also don't think we signed Duke to be traded for a 7th rd pick. If it happens to be for a pick, I'd have to think the minimum would at least be a 5th. Duke may warrant a new contract upon trading, but he's still under contract for the next 3 years. I think that holds some value... getting a RB with little wear and tear for 3 years might be worth more than a 7th, or at least should be (but I'm not an expert).

I can see a trade come draft time if for some reason the player we want (I suspect safety, but could be anyone) ends up being drafted before we can get to him. And we trade away Duke to add that position of need instead of drafting.

If we do trade Duke for a pick, I'd imagine it would be something like Duke and a 6th for a 4th rd pick, which in essence is just trading Duke to move up. Dorsey seems to do this a lot.

John Dorsey calls Duke Johnson 'vital part' of Browns offense, no push to trade the RB
https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2019/04/...o-trade-the-rb/

One of the more pressing questions around the 2019 Cleveland Browns is the fate of running back Duke Johnson. The team’s top receiver in 2017 and a fan favorite, Johnson saw his workload decline precipitously under Freddie Kitchens once the now-head coach took control of the Browns offense midway through 2018. He’s firmly behind Nick Chubb on the depth chart, and once Kareem Hunt returns from his suspension he will vault Johnson as well.

Johnson has asked the team for a trade, but for the second time in as many months Browns GM John Dorsey reiterated that he sees no reason why he should dump Duke. Dorsey addressed it again in his pre-draft press conference on Thursday.

“No, when you sit down with Freddie (Kitchens) and the coaching staff, they see him as a vital part of this offense moving forward,” Dorsey responded when asked if he was ready to part ways with Johnson. “He’s a good playmaker.”

Dorsey later acknowledged he has had some discussion with other teams about possible trades but doesn’t see any rush to move on.

“He understands the role that he’s going to play within this offense, and that’s what’s important because Duke, everybody knows, is a very talented playmaker, and I look forward to seeing him on the field on Sundays,” Dorsey said. “He’s really good and he’s going to help this offense move forward.”

Dorsey is certainly saying all the right things.

John's playing chess, not checkers. He may have plans to trade him or not, but he isn't going to give any hints to that right now.

Yeah, Duke put Dorsey in a tough spot when he asked for a trade. Keeping a disgruntled veteran on a team that has a losing tradition and is looking to make giant strides is not ideal.

Yet, Duke effectively diminished his trade value when he said he wanted to be traded.

I have seen posters saying we should keep Duke until the trade deadline. I think that would be good because of Hunt's situation. I do have a question though:

Does anyone know if teams receiver more or less compensation if they trade a guy at the trade deadline as opposed to trading a guy on draft day?

I agree. Trying to build value. Letting teams know this isn't a fire sale.

My first thought is less. However, if a team is desperate due to injury and/or thinking they are one play-maker away, a team may give a little more.

Those were my thoughts, as well. But, I don't really follow those types of things and didn't want to put out false information.

Excuse my manners............Thank you.

It is usually more, because of the reasons that you mentioned, but sometimes it winds up as a cut because nobody is interested. RB's are already undervalued by the league, so the risk of getting nothing is greater.
Personally because of Hunt's suspension, I would take the risk. Duke will give us production that we can't buy elsewhere and if we aren't getting good offers, we aren't risking a big loss.

That makes sense.

The one thing to consider that might make one change their mind is that a disgruntled player who loved his usage under Hue and is not being used as much by the new coach could prove to be disruptive. That carries more weight on a young team.

Not saying that will happen, but it could.

Yep,that's always a risk, but I don't think Duke is that type of guy.

He doesn't seem to be, but the request for a trade is something to consider.

And Dep, I am not disagreeing w/you. Just trying to sort things out by looking at things from different angles. You made solid points.

Totally agree.... unless we get great value for him during the draft I don't trade him until the deadline...And again only if we get a good deal.... no need to trade him unles he's acting like a cancer in the locker room... which he's shown no signs that he would

I certainly agree with you. I just wonder what the difference may be in what the league and Dorsey consider a good deal verses what the fan base sees as a good deal? They may be vastly different.

I might be mistaken, but Duke started complaining when Hue was still the coach. Yes his carries were down with Freddie, but his disenchantment started before Hue was fired.

Actually the reports came out early this spring not long after the Browns signed Hunt.

Let's count the times Hue said they need to get the ball to Duke more....

So, Duke with us until half-season or so, assuming Chubb is healthy. I was glad to read Dorsey showed DJ in a complimentary light. He is a playmaker. Judging him much by Huey's failure metrics can't be accurate.

Hope to see us find a way to use him. if he has to go, get something decent for him.

I think we are pretty close on this. Anyone speculating on whether or not he'll raise a stink is just guessing at this point.

If right now all we can get is a 6th or 7th rounder, I'll take that risk. If he raises a stink, then we can just cut him.

I'd rather try to get some games out of him and then trade him to a team more desperate.

j/c,

WP
"Going into the 2018 season, Johnson shared the backfield with Carlos Hyde and rookie Nick Chubb. Through the first six games, Johnson retained his familiar role as a runner and catcher totaling 111 rushing yards and 14 receptions for 164 receiving yards. Before Week 7, Hyde was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

--^Hue Jackson\Todd Haley era

In Week 9, against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had nine receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the 37–21 loss. Overall, he finished the 2018 season with 201 rushing yards to go along with 47 receptions for 429 yards and three touchdowns."

Johnson had his best game of the year in Freddie's first game as OC.

So I don't follow the logic of him being less involved in 2018, then before Hue Jackson was fired.

The trend begins with us acquiring more Playmakers.

With the Draft upcoming ... working on a trade for DJ is probably not on the to do list for the FO.

If we can not do a player for player trade, then the best we could expect would be a 6th round 2020 selection after the draft.

On the other hand ... The Browns might be forced into drafting a RB where they might have otherwise not considered one on their board.

I probably wasn't clear. I was talking about when Hue called the plays in the two previous years. Duke had a high usage rate in those two years when you compare him to backs w/a similar skill set. As I accurately predicted, Duke's usage decreased once Haley was in charge of the offense and for the most part continued under Freddie.

a dramatically lesser FO managed to get a 1st for Trent Richardson.


Never low-ball your own value.