Cleveland traded reserve tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. to the New England Patriots for running back Pierre Strong in an attempt to add some depth at the position and I'm guessing that Andrew Berry was concerned that another team could claim Strong, should New England release him.
New England picked Strong in the fourth round of the 2023 draft from South Dakota State, where he rushed for over 1,000 twice and over seven hundred yards in the Covid-shortened 2020 season for the Jackrabbits.
Strong carried the ball only ten times as a Patriot rookie, finishing with an even one hundred yards and a touchdown, and was active for fifteen games.
Strong also caught seven passes for forty-two yards and is reported to be a positive in the passing game from the backfield, so that's another bonus as the number two back Jerome Ford is still not one hundred percent from a preseason injury.
Strong finished with fifty-two yards on fourteen carries during the pre-season and appeared to be the odd man out among a group of younger backs behind Rhamondre Stevenson after New England signed Ezekiel Elliott as a free agent.
Strong looks to be fighting Demetric Felton and John Kelly for the third running back spot behind Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford, and seems to have the edge if only because the Browns just traded for him and had to have felt they needed an upgrade over Felton or Kelly.
Wheatley has never played in an NFL game, having spent time with the Bears and Browns practice squads and a training camp with the Raiders, since entering the league in 2021 as an undrafted free agent.
Wheatley is somewhat new to the tackle position, having played his entire college career as a tight end at Michigan and Stony Brook.
Wheatley reportedly impressed the Browns in camp and they were rumored to have concerns that Wheatley would be claimed by someone before he would clear waivers and would not be able to be signed to the Browns practice squad.
Both teams needed help at the positions involved, Cleveland wasn't deep at running back, New England suffered some injuries along the offensive line, and neither player was likely to clear waivers after the Tuesday cuts, so it made sense for both teams to help the other.
It's more likely than not that this trade turns out to have little impact but small trades can turn out to have future impact, so no trade is unimportant, at least for a while.
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