WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry is a long-term planner who oversees a team built to win now. The Browns are hoping improved quarterback play from Deshaun Watson and more splash plays from a veteran defense headlined by Myles Garrett can push the team back to the playoffs, and beyond January’s wild-card exit that followed an 11-win season.
The big goal is obvious. But in his annual early training camp meeting with reporters Monday, Berry masterfully dodged a question about how high his expectations are for the 2024 Browns.
“I really have two expectations going into every season, and that’s for our organization to maximize our potential on the field and for us to be able to handle adversity — however it comes — in a high-level, professional way,” Berry said. “And that’s actually one of the things I was probably most proud of the team last year, that we had a bunch of different curveballs. And I felt like our players, our coaches, our staff really just handled everyone regardless of when it came or how it came, and I was really proud of that group.
“Every team in the NFL is going to have those peaks (and valleys). You don’t know what it is, whether it’s an injury, a losing streak, whatever, but you’ve got to be able to overcome those moments or those stretches if you want to be playing deep into the playoffs.”
Berry never reveals too much, and his standard answer to any contract-related question is that he doesn’t publicly talk about contract matters. But he did touch on a variety of subjects on Monday, and it’s worth both noting and analyzing a few of his answers.
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“The (confidence) comes from just seeing Deshaun every day. Seeing how he prepares, seeing how he works in practice. Seeing how he relates to his coaches. I think our biggest focus with Deshaun is just making sure that he’s available,” Berry said. “I think the rest will take care of itself.”
The Browns know they need a big year from Watson, and Berry knows he has to be right about the last part. It’s not just that Watson needs to be healthy for a full season after playing in just 12 games over his first two years in Cleveland. The Browns have to be able to expect the more-than-occasional great level of play from Watson. He has been at least close to a full participant through the first four days of training camp, and he said before camp he’s had no setbacks with any part of his shoulder rehab.
Berry said the Browns might limit Watson’s throwing later in camp, and coach Kevin Stefanski has stressed that the team will be “smart” in making sure Watson continues to be healthy and confident. Neither Watson nor Stefanski has given a firm answer on whether the quarterback will get any live action in the preseason, but all involved feel good about the plan the team and Watson’s doctor put in place last spring — one that was always geared toward September more than July.
Of course, Watson’s status and ability to guide the Browns on a playoff push will be the first talking point in almost any circumstance until we see it happen. So until September, we’ll be watching closely as Watson works in practice and Stefanski tries to construct an offense that puts him in position to consistently succeed.
“We’ve been very pleased with Deshaun here early in camp,” Berry said. “I think you’ve all seen that he’s really worked his tail off in terms of his shoulder rehab over really like the past year, and he had a really strong spring. He’s done a really nice job here early at camp, so we feel like he’s in a great place both physically and mentally and look forward to a big year.”
looking forward to a big year from @deshaunwatson pic.twitter.com/4SsAbQqXKJ
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 29, 2024
“We are very cognizant that you just can’t build enough depth into the roster,” said Berry. “But we certainly will die trying.”
With the roster going from the offseason size of 90 to the regular-season size of 53 in late August, it’s going to be hard to make this team. The Browns are positioned to return all 11 of last year’s opening-day starters on offense, a group of others who started or contributed later, and roughly 16 to 18 players who played significant snaps in various defensive rotations.
In the spring, Berry’s group added more competition along both lines, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and experienced backup options at offensive tackle and running back.
I just really like that line: “We certainly will die trying.”
Injuries left the 2023 Browns scrambling at multiple positions, including premium ones such as quarterback and offensive tackle. The Browns are currently dealing with some injury related uncertainty at cornerback and offensive tackle, but Berry said left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. is progressing well and that it’s “realistic” to think both defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (knee) and cornerback Greg Newsome II (hamstring) could return by the start of the regular season. There’s nothing certain on that front, and there will be more unforeseen circumstances throughout training camp and the preseason.
“The way we consider attrition within the roster is twofold,” Berry said. “It’s one, the level of risk that you may have in a certain position group based on every player that you sign or trade for or draft. (Players) don’t have the same level of injury risk. Some have maybe a more extended history, some have been durable for their entire careers. …
“The second piece of it is, and it’s why roster-building is 365 days a year, it’s because you can never have enough depth. And the (position) groups, we always joke, the groups that you go into the camp and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, we’re really deep here. Like, we’re gonna either have to release a good player or we’re gonna have to work a trade,’ it seems like those are the groups that you get wiped out with first.”
Berry said he prefers to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster “most years,” but said it’s too early to know how things will shake out in the quarterback room or in other areas of the roster that could lead to difficult decisions. It’s expected that veteran Tyler Huntley and second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson will battle throughout August for the No. 3 job behind Watson and Jameis Winston.
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“We are incredibly pleased with the work that Nick (Chubb) has put in, the progress that he’s made,” said Berry. “He still has a little ways to go, but we’re really happy to see where he is and look forward to him to continue to improve the health of the knee.”
Chubb remains on the physically unable to perform list, but he’s been working on the side during practices and held an extended sprinting and cutting workout on the practice field late last week. The Browns obviously hope Chubb can return for the final year of his current contract, and they believe he will, but the team will continue to exercise patience as Chubb works his way back from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus he suffered last September.
As for a timeline for a potential Chubb return to football activities, Berry said, “We will deal with it day by day.” Maybe the folks in charge are sending subtle messages that Chubb won’t be ready until at least a month into the regular season — or maybe they just want to let Chubb continue to go through his rehab program before making any firm decisions. It could be either, and it could be a combination of both.
“I’m not going to speculate on (the timeline) part of it other than the staff has seen him run and seen him work out and he’s right where he needs to be,” Stefanski said. “As we’ve talked about all along, he’s attacking this rehab. He’s in early, staying late. I give a lot of credit to Nick, give a lot of credit to our medical team that are bringing him along, but we’re not going to worry about much past today with that.”
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“I think everybody here understands what Amari Cooper has meant to this organization and our affinity for him,” Berry said. “He’s an excellent player, outstanding human being. He’s a real professional.”
Cooper stayed away from the team’s minicamp because he wanted a new deal, but he reported to training camp on time after the Browns and Cooper’s representation reached an agreement on an amended contract for this season. The Browns added void years to the contract and gave Cooper up to $5 million more in the short term via reachable incentives, while he remains eligible for free agency ahead of the 2025 season. As has been the case in past contract structures, the Browns pushed dead money to future years with the expectation that the NFL’s salary cap will continue to rise.
Berry said the restructuring would not prevent Cleveland from reaching an extension with Cooper in the coming months, though he was careful not to share much detail. Cooper said Berry stressed during the negotiations that it was “nothing personal,” and Cooper said he couldn’t predict the future when it comes to where he’ll be playing in 2025. It’s certainly something to track given that the Browns’ receiving corps still has Cooper as the clear No. 1 and a bunch of uncertainty behind him. Jeudy still is not practicing due to a leg injury, but Stefanski said the Browns expect to have him on the field soon.
“If you’re asking my opinion, personally, I personally think that we are paying these guys to be athletes as opposed to gladiators,” Berry said. “So I prefer the dome solution. I prefer to be indoors. I think that’s better for the team.”
That was Berry’s answer on his preference for what the Browns choose for the future of their stadium.
The team is pretty much down to two choices. One is a remodel of the current stadium along Lake Erie, and the second is an indoor facility in suburban Brook Park. Team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam provided no real update during their annual camp conversation with reporters, and Berry became the first Browns’ employee to publicly take a side.
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“I also think being in the Midwest, with the elements and everything, (playing inside) is better for our fans as well,” Berry said. “It creates a better fan experience late in the year when we’re making those playoff pushes. But I do want to emphasize any solution is a good solution. We’re happy whether it’s a renovation, a build, whatever, because it just means that our home environment is that much more of a home-field advantage in Cleveland.”
The Haslams said they’re focused on the “right answer” for the fans and have said there’s no urgency to make a final decision because of the complications and long-term ramifications involved.
“This isn’t a five-year decision,” Jimmy Haslam said. “It’s a 15-, 20-year decision, and what’s best for the fans is ultimately what we’ll do.”
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
