CLEVELAND, Ohio — GM Andrew Berry assured fans during his bye week press conference Wednesday that a teardown of the Browns roster isn’t necessary to get back on the winning track.
The Browns, who are 2-7 at the bye, went 1-31 in 2016 and 2017 with Hue Jackson as head coach, ending up with the No. 1 pick in 2017 and No. 1 in 2018. They selected Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield with those two picks, but have only one playoff victory in two appearances to show for it since then.
Even back then, the Browns didn’t necessarily mean to embark on a long rebuild as much as they wanted to stockpile draft picks.
“I’d say two things,” Berry said. “In terms of the long-term planning, again, that’s probably a better postseason discussion. I think one of the beauties of the NFL is it’s not like baseball, it’s not like basketball where, at times you may need these half decade long pivots or rebuilds.
“You see it every year with teams, just the margins are so thin and then honestly with just the way that our sport works with player procurement, it’s not like we’re drafting a 16-year-old kid who’s got to play eight years in the minors before he comes and produces or something along those lines. So I think generally you don’t necessarily have to see those pivots in our sport.”
Take the Steelers, who have never had a losing season in Mike Tomlin’s 16 seasons. When 2022 first round quarterback Kenny Pickett didn’t work out, they signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields this offseason, and have bolted out to a 6-2 record. They kept their star defensive players such as T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Alex Highsmith, and marched forth.
The task for Berry and his personnel staff will be to find a reasonably-priced quarterback in the draft or elsewhere, and try to get back to winning right away. In the meantime, he acknowledged that the Haslams aren’t happy with the record.
“I don’t think (anyone is happy),” Berry said. “Our fans aren’t happy. We’re not happy internally. The first nine games we haven’t played to an acceptable level, and so really everybody’s focus organizationally is to make the changes both short term and long term that would enable us to win consistently.”
Berry happy with the drafting
After the trade of Za’Darius Smith to the Lions, Berry has nine selections in the 2025 draft, and will have a chance to significantly upgrade the roster through that avenue alone. But he’s been happy with his regime’s drafting so far, even though they haven’t had a first round pick in the last three drafts because of the Deshaun Watson trade.
“We’re happy with the young players that we have on the roster,” he said. “We like how they’ve grown into different roles. A number of them are playing key positions for us and we will continue to look to bring young talent onto the team, especially with the full slate of draft picks.”
The Browns have benched 2020 No. 10 overall pick Jedrick Wills Jr., but replaced him at left tackle with 2023 fourth-round pick Dawand Jones, which could represent a huge save if he plays up to his potential there.
Will they start Dorian Thompson-Robinson and other young players this season?
With eight games left in the season, will the Browns start cornerback Dorian Thompson-Robinson at some point to get an evaluation on him for next season?
“That’ll always lie with Kevin and the offensive staff,” Berry said. “In terms of who to play. In general, I would say we’re going to play the guys that we think give us the best chance to perform well on Sundays and beat the upcoming opponent.”
The Browns also have Bailey Zappe on the roster, but it remains to be seen if he’ll get a chance.
As for young players such as fifth-round receiver Jamari Thrash, the philosophy remains the same.
“Our primary focus every week is going to be to win regardless of who’s on the field,” Berry said. “I think probably for every team, no different for us, there is going to be some natural transition every season, almost really regardless of your record where there are players on the roster that get the opportunity for more of an expanded role. I think probably a perfect example is (Cedric Tillman), right?
“After we made the Amari (Cooper) trade to Buffalo, he was a player that we thought was ready for more opportunities, and he’s responded quite nicely to the increased chances in the passing game. But the reality is anytime that we have a player take on an expanded role, whether they’re a young player or whether they’re a midyear vet, we’re doing it with the idea that they’re going to help us win games, if it’s their first time in the role that they’ll improve as they go and help us win games moving forward. But the primary focus is really to drive winning results.”
On if they ever considered trading Myles Garrett
Teams such as the Lions likely inquired about Garrett, but the Browns never considered trading him, Berry said.
Garrett and other core players such as Denzel Ward will be building blocks for next season.
Praise for Mike Vrabel
Berry was asked about team consultant Mike Vrabel’s future with the organization.
“I wouldn’t go into the employment status for any individual, but I would say this, Mike’s done a great job when he’s been here,” Berry said. “I think you guys have seen him. He brings a ton of energy, a ton of expertise. He’s worked well with our players, work well with our staff, and we’re really pleased with him.”
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