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2024 Browns are a disappointing mess. Who will be around next year to clean up? | Ulrich
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- 2024 Browns are a disappointing mess. Who will be around next year to clean up? | Ulrich
CLEVELAND — At best, the remainder of this Browns season is a fact-finding mission.
At worst, it would be a death march for the jobs of coach Kevin Stefanski , General Manager Andrew Berry and other prominent members of the organization.
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The Browns are 2-7 at their bye week on the heels of a 27-10 loss Sunday to the Los Angeles Chargers at Huntington Bank Field.
To characterize the 2024 Browns as a colossal disappointment would be an understatement.
The Browns expected a playoff berth to be their floor this season, but any realistic hopes along those lines have been dashed. The 2020 Washington Football Team qualified for the postseason after a 2-7 start, but only because it won a putrid NFC East division with a record of 7-9. In the AFC North, the Browns stand no chance of benefiting from a similar scenario.
Berry is scheduled to address the state of the team Wednesday during the Week 10 bye. His and Stefanski's job security will inevitably be a topic, even though the GM and the two-time NFL Coach of the Year signed contract extensions in June. Their fingerprints are all over the Browns making the playoffs twice since they were hired in 2020, yet no outcome involving their futures should be ruled out as owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam digest a massive flop.
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When a coach fires important assistants and cedes play-calling duties, he is undoubtedly less secure than he was previously. Stefanski has done both in the past nine months.
The future appears to be bleak, and it's all tied to a March 2022 trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson .
Do the Browns have a quarterback of the future? The jury is no longer out on Watson, or at least it shouldn't be. Cleveland's $230 million man could be back with the organization next season because of his fully guaranteed contract and the crippling salary-cap implications tied to cutting him. But he's coming off a ruptured right Achilles tendon suffered Oct. 20 against the Cincinnati Bengals and is on track toward a sealed fate as the worst trade acquisition in NFL history.
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Watson shouldn't return as a member of the Browns, yet it's possible because the combined $92 million they owe him in 2025 and 2026 isn't going to magically disappear.
More on Browns vs. Chargers: Cleveland offense, Jameis Winston struggle in loss to LA
Regardless, Berry, or whoever is in charge of Browns roster decisions in 2025, must restart a quest to find Cleveland's next long-term answer at quarterback. On the bright side, the Browns will have a first-round draft pick for the first time since they gave the Houston Texans three of them in the Watson deal. On the only-in-Cleveland side, the upcoming QB draft class is not considered a strong one.
Do the Browns even have a decent bridge quarterback of the present? It doesn't look like it. Jameis Winston appeared to be a legitimate candidate last week in a 29-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens but not at all Sunday in a three-interception outing against the Chargers. Albeit in a small sample size, injuries and turnovers suggest 2023 fifth-round draft pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson doesn't fit the description, either.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston throws a pass in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
The final eight games this season will give Browns players chances to audition for inclusion in the team's plans for next year.
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The exceptions would be anyone Berry ships away before the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Defensive end Za'Darius Smith has been an obvious trade option for weeks, yet multiple deals in a fire sale for future draft capital wouldn't be shocking.
The Browns need players — and cheap ones on rookie contracts primarily because of Watson's salary.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry responds to questions during Watson's introductory press conference at the Cleveland Browns Training Facility on March 25, 2022.
The flaws in Berry's roster construction have been exposed beyond quarterback. The defense's performance against the Chargers (5-3) served as just another reminder, and what had been a stellar offensive line for years is filled with as many question marks as a receiving corps lacking a true No. 1 since Berry traded Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills last month.
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The running back stable is filled with uncertainty, too. Nick Chubb is Cleveland's football hero, but he's in the final year of his contract and coming off a second miraculous comeback from reconstructive left knee surgery.
The point is the Browns roster will likely undergo a significant overhaul in the offseason.
Should the coaching staff and front office be blown up, too?
Browns advisor Mike Vrabel works with cornerback Myles Harden during practice, Aug. 5, 2024, in Berea.
Stefanski is a good coach, and it would be wrong to make him the fall guy. Yes, Browns coaching and player personnel consultant Mike Vrabel will be one of the NFL's hottest head coaching candidates in the next hiring cycle, so Cleveland has an in-house candidate it could interview.
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At the same time, is everyone certain Walsh Jesuit High School graduate Vrabel would want to take his next bite at the apple with the Haslams after receiving a long peek behind the curtain?
Berry should be on thinner ice than Stefanski, but unless Berry led the charge to trade for Watson, he should also be retained for a shot to turn this around in 2025. However, let's leave some leave wiggle room based on the Watson of it all.
If you've paid attention to Jimmy Haslam for long enough, you know he loves to take big swings, gambles or whatever you want to call it. The Watson trade perfectly fits the profile, given what the Browns surrendered to acquire him while knowing more than two dozen women had accused the quarterback of sexual misconduct or sexual assault during his Texans career.
More Browns news: Dawand Jones starts at left tackle for second consecutive game
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, right, and executive vice president JW Johnson watch warm ups before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam definitely played a vital role in the Watson deal. To reiterate, they even convinced their daughters the trade made sense despite the long list of lawsuits filed against Watson.
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But there is a difference between approving the Watson deal and driving the bus for it. If the Haslams were lured into it by Berry, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta or anyone else they employ, they would be justified in revamping the front office. If the Haslams basically told Browns bigwigs to execute the trade by any means necessary and overruled any pushback, they ought to blame themselves.
Either way, when an NFL franchise fails to meet expectations to this extent, people usually lose jobs, and owners typically don't fire themselves.
Jimmy Haslam has explained in the past he loathes when fans and media members say his team is the "same old Browns." Although the Browns are substantially more talented than they were early in Haslam's ownership, they're once again a mess in a staggering number of ways.
The question is who will still be around next year to clean all of this up.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' disastrous season means team must be on alert for changes
