Braylon Edwards was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft after a sensational career at Michigan where he scored 39 touchdowns and posted three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
He was selected to be the Browns’ new No. 1 receiver and superstar player on offense, but he didn’t quite live up to the expectations outside of one massive 2007 season that saw him go off for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns, and the Browns eventually traded him to the New York Jets during the 2009 season for an incredibly unforeseen reason, according to a former Jets general manager.
During an appearance on Unsportsmanlike Radio, former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum said that Edwards left Cleveland largely due to a scuffle with LeBron James’ friends, noting that after Edwards’ scuffle with LeBron’s crew, “(Eric) Mangini calls me up the next morning, Braylon Edwards is a Jet, and the rest is history.”
Braylon Edwards left Cleveland because of a scuffle with LeBron's friends 😯@RealTannenbaum shares his most memorable in-season trade story with the USL crew on @ESPNRadio pic.twitter.com/uSoY80KZue
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) November 1, 2024
Tannenbaum was joking about how hope was bleak prior to the trade and he was thinking about calling Roger Goodell to cancel the season because he didn’t think his Jets were going to win another game.
According to the official report, Edwards punched one of LeBron’s friends at a nightclub and was charged with misdemeanor assault and given a suspended 180-day jail sentence.
The Jets acquired Edwards for wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik, a third-round pick, and a fifth-round pick.
He wasn’t a superstar for the Jets, but he was a solid and reliable contributor that helped the Jets reach an AFC Championship game.
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