A much-needed bye week has arrived for the Browns. It does so with the team coming off yet another loss.

Cleveland went to New England in Week 8 and was beaten 32-13 to fall to 2-6. The game showcased both the best of the Browns in Myles Garrett’s five-sack performance, and the worst in their inept offense.

It also continued to leave more questions than answers as to where the Browns go over the last nine games of the season. Most of those, obviously, center around the offensive woes.

There’s also a looming trade deadline coming at 4 p.m. Nov. 4. How much that impacts the way the Browns look over those final nine games may be the biggest short-term question of them all.

As we jump into three big questions coming out of the Patriots game and heading into the bye, that’s where we’ll start.

Does David Njoku remain on Browns through trade deadline?

The Browns certainly opened the door to some conjecture as to what moves they could make with two transactions on Oct. 27, the day after the New England loss. They initially added rookie tight end Caden Prieskorn to their practice squad around noon, a move that wouldn’t matter too much in the grand scheme of things on its own. However, later in the day, they announced they had claimed tight end Brenden Bates, who’d previously been with them both in 2024 and 2025, off waivers. Put the two together, and wondering if David Njoku could be a potential trade piece isn’t too far a leap. Njoku returned to the field against the Patriots after missing the previous game because of a knee injury. He played 32 offensive snaps, which was second-most among tight ends behind Harold Fannin Jr.’s 40. Njoku is also on the final year of his contract. The veteran tight end certainly would be at or near the top of any potential trade list for Cleveland.

How do Browns improve an unproductive wide receiver group?

The Browns’ top wide receiver, Jerry Jeudy, is third on the team in both receptions (22) and receiving yards (257). He is the only wide receiver in the top six in receptions on the team. The rest of the wide receivers on the team have just 38 combined catches, with 11 of those by Cedric Tillman, who has been on injured reserve since after a Week 4 loss to the Detroit Lions. Tillman, according to coach Kevin Stefanski, is expected to be activated from the list after the bye. He would at least provide some size to the position. It’s production, however, that has remained a season-long issue from the entire group. Can the Browns swing a deal to potentially improve the room? The New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson has been prominently floated among the trade rumors. Could they pull him out of New York, as well as set up a heck of a homecoming game coming out of the bye when the Browns play at the Jets Nov. 9?

Who will be calling the plays on offense for Cleveland Browns?

If you’re wondering where questions about the quarterback are, they’re not here. It’s not that there aren’t questions, it’s just that both wide receiver and play calling are much more front-burner questions at this point in the season since the Browns are intentional in wanting to give Dillon Gabriel some runway to at least find some footing in the job, certainly more than just four or five games. That goes to the more immediate question of what does Stefanski do about the play-calling duties? The coach, who’s called the plays since becoming head coach save for the final 10 games of the 2024 season, has acknowledged that’s part of the bye-week examination. Stefanski could come out of that and say he’s still the one for the job. Or, does he hand the play sheet to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and see what he can do with it?