Cleveland Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy is amused by a story circulating Thursday that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson didn’t want his team to trade for the star because his player rating in the “Madden NFL” video game series was too low.
But does the fifth-year player actually believe the anecdote that was related as part of a lengthy article on Johnson and the Jets published Thursday by the Athletic?
“Be real,” Jeudy told reporters Thursday afternoon.
Jeudy was selected by the Denver Broncos at No. 15 overall in the 2020 draft. He spent four years with the organization and was traded to the Browns during the offseason. Before that transaction took place, the Broncos and Jets were in talks for a deal that would have sent Jeudy to New York in exchange for receiver Allen Lazard and a draft pick.
That trade, of course, never went down. Jeudy ended up being sent to Cleveland, where he has topped the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career and also has four touchdown receptions. The Athletic article states that “Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in ‘Madden NFL,’ the popular video game, wasn’t high enough,” citing multiple league sources.
The article also states that Johnson’s use of Madden ratings to evaluate Jeudy and other players was by his two teenage sons, whom various team and league sources told the Athletic have given their father advice on other team decisions as well. A source familiar with the workings of the Jets organization but not authorized to discuss them publicly told The Times that Madden ratings have no bearing on team decisions and that Johnson’s sons also have no influence on such matters.
Jeudy told reporters he finds the story too far-fetched to be true.
“To be honest, I don’t believe it. I think that’s fake news for real,” said Jeudy, who finished last season with an 81 rating and currently has an 83 rating. “Why would somebody look at Madden rating? Be real. I don’t think that’s real, but it’s funny.”