BEREA — The NFL trade deadline was thought to be an opportunity for the Browns to add pieces to their active roster. Instead, the only move they made before the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline was to subtract a piece who seemed to be declining in production.

The Browns traded receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick on Tuesday before the league's deadline for making deals. That was the extent of the moves they made involving their active roster, although they did sign three players to the practice squad.

The Detroit native and former University of Michigan product joins the current NFC North leaders in his hometown. The Lions improved to 6-2 with Monday night's win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

"Cleveland, I want to thank the ownership and coaching staff for the amazing opportunity that I’ve had the past few years," Peoples-Jones wrote on his Instagram. "I’m so grateful for each experience, lesson, and the time that I’ve been blessed with during my time in Cleveland. I’m thankful for the staff and everyone else in the building that I was able to interact with on a daily basis. My teammates I will love forever, and I cherish the brotherhood that I’ve been apart of for the last few years. Thank you also to the fans that have accepted me and have been nothing but supportive since the day I arrived in Cleveland. I wish the Browns, and Cleveland the absolute best with everything moving forward."

For the Browns, the move likely opens up more playing time for third-round pick Cedric Tillman, their top draft pick in April. The former University of Tennessee star has been inactive for the last three games and has just one 5-yard reception this season.

Peoples-Jones was a 2020 sixth-round pick for the Browns and will be a free agent after this season. He never completely found his footing as a consistent target in the Browns' passing game. He significantly dropped off in production this season.

"We're excited about the kid," Lions general manager Brad Holmes told Detroit reporters Tuesday. "He's had good production in the past. He'll be a good fit here. He's been a high-character kid. Obviously, he's from Michigan, he's from Detroit, he's a local kid. So I think he'll be very, very happy."

This season, Peoples-Jones had just 97 yards on eight catches. For his career, he had 117 catches for 1,837 yards and eight touchdowns.

Peoples-Jones appeared to have a breakout season a year ago when he had 61 catches for 839 yards and three TDs. However, he had one catch or none in five of the Browns' seven games this season, including Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Browns add Kenyan Drake, two others, to practice squad on deadline day

The team announced Tuesday it had signed running back Kenyan Drake, offensive tackle Geron Christian and receiver James Proche to the practice squad. The Browns also released practice-squad running backs Jordan Wilkins and Nate McCrary while placing tackle Ty Nsekhe on the practice squad/injured list.

Christian (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) is a replacement for Nsekhe, who suffered a bicep injury in the loss at the Seattle Seahawks. The sixth-year pro out of the University of Louisville was a 2018 third-round pick of Washington, and has played 49 career games with 16 starts with the Commanders (2018-20), Texans (2021, 2023) and Chiefs (2022).

Christian started one game for the Texans this season, a win over the Steelers.

Drake and Proche both most recently played for the Ravens. Drake appeared in two games for the Ravens earlier this season, while Proche was a sixth-round pick of Baltimore's in 2020 and played in 43 games for it between 2020-22.

Drake was originally a 2016 sixth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins out of the University of Alabama. He's gained 3,866 yards and scored 33 TDs in 103 career games with the Dolphins, Cardinals, Raiders and the Ravens.

Former Browns QB Joshua Dobbs dealt by Arizona Cardinals to Minnesota Vikings

Meanwhile, one potential move the Browns could've made to help at quarterback behind the injured Deshaun Watson is no longer available. The Cardinals, who come to Cleveland on Sunday, dealt Joshua Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Vikings in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick.

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Dobbs was with the Browns for the first 11 games of the 2022 season, and was in line to be Watson's backup through training camp this season. However, he was dealt to the Cardinals along with a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick on Aug. 24.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns send Donovan Peoples-Jones to Lions in lone trade deadline deal