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.”