Donovan Peoples-Jones Shares Emotional Goodbye to Browns Fans After Trade

Tuesday was a tough day for Donovan Peoples-Jones, as the former Cleveland Browns wide receiver was traded to the Detroit Lions before the NFL Trade Deadline. Even worse, the return for him was embarrassingly small -- a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.

Peoples-Jones had been involved in trade rumors leading up to the deadline, so the deal didn't come as a total surprise. He also hasn't played well at all this season, which seemingly made him expendable.

Donovan Peoples-Jones Trade

While Peoples-Jones isn't going far, getting traded is never easy, especially when you've spent your whole career with one team like he has.

After the news broke, Peoples-Jones said goodbye to Browns fans with an emotional post on his Instagram account.

Peoples-Jones, who was drafted by Cleveland as a sixth-round pick in 2020 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the franchise, thanked ownership, the coaching staff, his teammates and the fans in his lengthy farewell post. He ended the post on a high note by wishing the Browns and the city of Cleveland the best.

While it hurts to see Peoples-Jones go, the time had come to move on. He simply wasn't producing this year, managing just 8 catches on 18 targets for 97 yards and no touchdowns despite playing all 7 games, putting him on pace for the worst season of his career. The Browns were hoping to get rookie wideout Cedric Tillman more playing time, and shipping DPJ out enables that.

Peoples-Jones can't complain too much, as he's at least going to a better team. The Lions lead the NFC North at 6-2 and shouldn't have much trouble staying ahead of the second-place Minnesota Vikings following Kirk Cousins' season-ending injury.

Peoples-Jones should also benefit from having a reliable quarterback every week in the form of Jared Goff, whereas he's already played with three different QBs in Cleveland this season due to Deshaun Watson's ongoing injury saga.

So goodbye to you, Mr. Peoples-Jones. Thanks for everything, and we wish you the best as well.

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