After an abysmal 1-5 start to the 2024 season, the Cleveland Browns appear to be pulling the plug and beginning to rebuild. The first indicator was the trade of veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday.

Despite being a star for the team the previous two seasons, Cooper led the league in drops earlier this year and looked like a shell of his former self.

For the Buffalo Bills, giving up a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick is a win for the chance for Cooper to regain some confidence and find his true No. 1 wide receiver status. This is also probably a good move for the Browns to get compensation for an aging receiver who probably wouldn’t have been with the team in two years.

Unless the league is completely turned on its head immediately, this season is likely over for the Browns, even though they haven’t even reached the halfway point of their schedule. What the 2024 season could look like now is an opportunity to experiment and analyze which young talents are worth keeping for the future.

With Cooper gone and David Bell out for the year, there are two spots available for additional reps. Ideally, this means Cedric Tillman and Jamari Thrash get extensive work the rest of the year.

Jerry Jeudy is certainly the best wide receiver and Elijah Moore will likely continue to play over 70 percent of the offense. Moore’s performances have been lackluster so far this season and with him becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025, the team honestly won’t even try to release him unless his play improves. It will be interesting to see where he will play in 2025.

Like Moore, Tillman and Thrash have a lot to prove. Tillman played in each of the first six games for Cleveland, but only had three receptions for nine yards. Although Tillman looks attractive due to his 6-foot-10 frame and some blocking appearances, his problems with route running and drops are a major concern.

While Tillman seems like a bust and a wasted third-round pick right now, rookie Jamari Thrash has yet to see the field outside of the preseason. Thrash had some nice moments during the preseason, recording 10 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown in three games.

Hopefully the Browns decide to use Thrash against the Cincinnati Bengals and beyond to see what they have with the fifth-round pick from Louisville.

Because the connection between Deshaun Watson and the receivers is so great, it’s hard to imagine anything drastically changing with the passing game. That being said, one of these two young receivers might be able to show promise given a longer chance.

If both fail, almost the entire wide receiver field could be remodeled by 2025.