BEREA, Ohio _ Running back Carlos Hyde will be traveling to Florida but it won't be with the Browns on their weekend trip to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Friday, the Browns traded Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2019 fifth-round draft pick. The Jaguars (3-3) will host the Houston Texans (3-3) on Sunday as the Browns (2-3-1) visit the Bucs (2-3) elsewhere in the Sunshine State.
Hyde started five of the Browns' first six games and compiled 114 carries for a team-leading 382 yards (3.4 average) and five touchdowns. The rest of the roster has combined for nine touchdowns. An Ohio State product who spent his first four NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Hyde also caught six passes for 29 yards during his brief tenure in Cleveland.
His exit will clear the way for rookie second-round draft pick Nick Chubb and versatile veteran Duke Johnson to get more touches. Chubb has 16 carries for 173 yards (10.8 average) and two touchdowns but no catches. Johnson has 19 carries for 111 yards (5.8 average) and 14 catches for 164 yards.
Browns general manager John Dorsey signed Hyde, 28, in March to a three-year, $15.25 million contract, which includes $8 million guaranteed. The Jaguars were in need of a running back because starter Leonard Fournette is dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. On Sunday, he will miss his fifth game in six weeks.
Browns coach Hue Jackson has repeatedly said he wants Chubb and Johnson to get the ball more. Although the logic behind the trade is hard to miss, the move is still a surprise. Free safety Damarious Randall's reaction on Twitter was, "Wait what."
The drumbeat for Chubb to receive more carries began Sept. 30, when he rushed three times for 105 yards (35 average) and two touchdowns in a 45-42 overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders. However, Chubb has gotten three carries in each of the two games since then.
Johnson has been one of the franchise's top playmakers since former GM Ray Farmer drafted him in the third round in 2015. Dorsey rewarded Johnson in June with a three-year, $15.6 million contract extension. Yet Johnson has just 33 touches.
Now the opportunities will obviously increase for Chubb and Johnson, but the Browns are taking a risk by reducing their depth at running back.
The Browns have the following picks in next year's draft: their own choices in the first six rounds, plus an extra third-round selection, two more fifths and a conditional seventh.
And Dorsey may not be done wheeling and dealing before the NFL's 4 p.m. Oct. 30 trade deadline.
