BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns executive vice president of football operations Andrew Berry reflected on the 2023 season and fielded questions Monday.
Here are our top Brownie Bites from Berry’s end of season wrap up.
All for 4 – Deshaun Watson is the elephant in the room for the Browns this offseason. Two years into the blockbuster trade that sent six draft picks, including three first rounders, to Houston plus a fully guaranteed with no eject button $230 million contract, Watson has appeared in 12 games and missed 22. “We'd all love to have him on the field more often,” Berry said. Watson is recovering from right shoulder surgery to repair a broken bone suffered during a 33-31 cone from behind victory at Baltimore November 12. Berry and the organization feel good about Watson’s rehab progress and ability to return to superstar form. “[We] do feel really good about him, happy with the progress that he's made within our organization, both on the field and off the field,” Berry said. “And we're looking forward to get him back next year. We think he's going to have a really big year and have a ton of confidence in him as our starting quarterback.” Berry didn’t want to spend much time reflecting on the trade with the Texans that has produced marginal results for the organization. “When we made the trade, we really looked at it as, hey, this is something that we'll evaluate like a 10-year time horizon,” Berry said. “Obviously we want him on the field more often than he's been. He can't help the shoulder injuries this year, but we're really pleased with him. He's very talented, he's very hardworking, he's adaptable and we really feel good about it moving forward.”
Still wacko for Flacco? – Joe Flacco put together a five-game stretch late in the season not seen by a Browns starting quarterback since Otto Graham. OK, that might be a bit much, but Flacco was sensational and he helped salvage a season that seemed destined for the ditch. His desire to play in 2024 is well known but could the Browns bring him back as QB2? “We'd absolutely love to have Joe back,” Berry said. “He's a good quarterback, but I guess maybe a little bit similar to Jacoby [Brissett] last year. It depends, right? I want to bring all of our good players back, but there are constraints to that. I'm really kind of both sides of the aisle, but would have no problem having Joe back.” Flacco threw for 1,616 yards with 13 touchdowns in five starts – one fewer touchdown pass than Watson has had in 12 starts. Berry stressed the dynamics of having both Watson and Flacco would not be an issue. “Zero considerations because of how both individuals are, it's not a concern internally at all,” Berry said. Injuries to starting quarterbacks were a plague throughout the NFL, which raised the profile of the importance of having a strong backup quarterback is for teams. “If you look at our history over the last four off seasons, we've always been towards the top of the league in backup quarterback expenditures or resources,” Berry said. “Whether it was Case [Keenum] for the first two years, obviously Jacoby last year and then even this year coming into the year with [Josh] Dobbs and Dorian [Thompson-Robinson]. So it's something I believe that backup quarterback really is a top 30 position on the roster, and we do believe in carrying three and that's something that we'll probably do moving forward.”
Batman returns – Berry’s plan is to bring Nick Chubb back for 2024. “Nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh be the last time he carries the ball for the Cleveland Browns,” Berry said. “And obviously there are things that we'll have to work through, but that would not be our intention as well. We obviously will work to keep him on the team.” Chubb, who is entering the final year of his contract that would pay him $12.2 million but the team can save around $11.8 million in cap space by cutting him this offseason, is recovering from a pair of surgeries to repair a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus as the result of a devastating injury that occurred Week 2 at Pittsburgh. Berry praised Chubb’s rehab efforts and desire to do whatever he could behind the scenes to help. “He's not like a super talkative person, but for him to do the whole Batman thing in front of the Jets game, it's like he wanted to do everything in his power to help the team win,” Berry said.
OC search – Berry would not address the decision to part with Alex Van Pelt or what they are looking for in a new offensive coordinator – or if head coach Kevin Stefanski would continue to call plays. “Number one, that's something that we always talk about every off season and kind of the self-assessment,” Berry said. “Part of that depends on where we land with staff and what Kevin's preferences are. Ultimately that's going to be his decision as he constructs a staff. We've mentioned multiple times, I think that's one of Kevin's strengths, but how that operates from year to year, that's ultimately something that we assess.”
On the move – With his son, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, up for head coaching jobs, the Browns are aware they could potentially lose offensive line coach Bill Callahan this offseason. “We obviously value Bill very highly,” Berry said. “He's done a great job with us the past four seasons, but I probably don't feel comfortable commenting on that until we address the coaching staff.” Brian Callahan will reportedly interview this week for the Titans, Panthers and Falcons.