BEREA — It's wrong to think Browns general manager Andrew Berry didn't try to make a deal to enhance his active roster by Tuesday's NFL trade deadline. What he didn't do, however, was make a deal to enhance the roster.

That's where the Browns stand as they go forward from the last point in the season in which significant established reinforcements could be added. Sure, there's the waiver wire and street free agents and random practice-squad raids as ways to bring in other players.

What the trade deadline provides is a chance to get the kind of player who arrives with the expectations of making a difference the rest of the season. It's a signal to the rest of the team that the front office believes in what the team is doing and is doing its part to try and bolster the team's chances.

The Browns traded away a receiver — Donovan Peoples-Jones — in a contract year who saw his productivity diminish after having a career year last season. They also signed three players to their practice squad.

That's the extent of the Browns' deadline-day drama. A 4-3 team with a massive question mark surrounding the quarterback position and potential need at two other offensive skill positions essentially rearranged the living room furniture.

Let's dive into what the Browns did, and didn't, do on deadline day by looking at the trade they made, the signings they made and the deals they didn't make.

Does Donovan Peoples-Jones leaving mean more Cedric Tillman and/or David Bell?

Peoples-Jones seemed like a possible candidate to have a big season coming off a breakout season last year. That was especially true considering the connection he seemed to have developed last December and January with Deshaun Watson.

Then the Browns drafted Cedric Tillman in the third round with their first pick in April. And Watson suffered a rotator cuff strain to his right shoulder that has essentially limited him to 12 plays since Sept. 24.

Peoples-Jones had, in many ways, become an afterthought in the Browns offense: eight catches, 97 yards. Five of those catches came in two games against Indianapolis and Tennessee.

His departure to the Detroit Lions means more chances for a younger pair of third-round picks, starting with Tillman. The University of Tennessee product has been inactive for the last three games, something that will certainly change with Peoples-Jones no longer here.

It also means more potentially for David Bell, the third-round pick in 2022 out of Purdue who has struggled to get his own consistent targets this season. He has just four catches for 33 yards, although one of those was a huge fourth-down grab in the Week 6 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

So arguably one of the best draft picks by Berry since 2020 is dealt so that two younger draft picks get their chance to prove whether they can actually play or not. That's what it boils down to.

Does not landing a different quarterback say anything about Deshaun Watson's status?

Everyone is long past reading tea leaves to try and figure out Watson's status. It's been a fool's errand pretty much from the moment the injury first became public.

Watson may play against Arizona when the Cardinals visit Cleveland on Sunday. Or he may push his absence essentially into a second month.

If Watson doesn't play, it's either going to be P.J. Walker — who's played the last three games — or rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who played the Week 4 game against the Ravens. Those are the quarterbacks on the roster.

There was thought one of two former Watson backups with the Browns could be coming back at the deadline. However, Joshua Dobbs was dealt by the Cardinals to the Vikings and Jacoby Brissett was never dealt by the Commanders.

Dobbs, who the Browns sent to Arizona in August, may never have been a realistic option. Brissett, who started 11 games while Watson was suspended last season, was sought by the Browns, but it never took much flight.

According to NBC5 in Washington's J.P. Finley, the Browns offered up a sixth-round pick to the Commanders for Brissett. That wasn't enough to bring him back to Cleveland.

Can any of the three practice-squad signings help the Browns on game day?

Sure, it's possible.

Kenyan Drake could provide a few quality carries at running back or return kicks if he's a gameday elevation at some point. He's not likely to be some kind of 18-to-20 carries back, though.

Geron Christian at least gives the Browns another veteran tackle at their disposal. No different than Ty Nsekhe, who he replaced when Nsekhe suffered a bicep injury in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Proche does have a history of returning punts, which was one of Peoples-Jones' roles. So that makes him a candidate if they don't want to use Elijah Moore like they did early on in Seattle.

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 deadline takeaways: Cedric Tillman's role, QB questions