ORLANDO, FLA. — Andrew Berry is in the midst of what could easily be considered his time of the year.
The Browns general manager is two-plus weeks into free agency, where he can reshape the roster in a major — or minor — way as he sees fit. He's also about a month away from the NFL draft, where he'll have the chance to add more to young talent.
On Tuesday, though, Berry sat down with a small group of beat writers, including the Beacon Journal, at the NFL owners meetings at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. The 37-minute conversation broached a variety of topics, from the free-agent signings already done to the health of quarterback Deshaun Watson and running back Nick Chubb and everything in between.
Here's some bullet-point highlights from Berry's conversation Tuesday.
Chubb continues to rehab from the major knee injury he suffered in Week 2 at the Pittsburgh Steelers , The injury required two separate surgeries during the fall, although he wasn't on crutches by the end of the regular season.
Berry tried to give an idea of when the Browns could reasonably start to set a true timetable for his return to the field.
"I think that as we think about it, until we see him in the next couple months, I think the next, call it three months, will be pretty telling in terms of his potential readiness for early in the season," Berry said. "We are going to be conservative in terms of our approach in our assessment with building the roster because he is coming off of a major knee injury. But I do have to give him a lot of credit. He's done a really, really nice job. But I think we'll have a better sense. Don't hold me to it, but I think probably if you ask me that question around the draft, I may have maybe a little bit more of a specific answer."
The Browns acquired wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos in a trade more than two weeks ago. A week ago, even before playing a game for the team, he agreed to a three-year, $52.5-million extension that will run through the 2027 season.
"Yeah, so one of the things that we feel like is a competitive advantage for us has been our contract management philosophy," Berry said. "And we're firm believers that in that space the best front offices or the best teams are proactive as opposed to reactionary and market dynamics. … In Jerry's case, you already saw two new receiver contracts enter the market that really are harbinger of things to come in that market. I mean, probably by Week 1 of the NFL season, the top of that market's going to be north of $30 million.
"So as we think of the contract management space, rather than be reactive to new market, we try and be proactive. And probably more importantly is when we think about an extension or a signing, we think about, OK, well where is the market actually going to be on September 1 as opposed to maybe an irrelevant market on March 1, so to speak."
The Browns have two day-two draft picks: No. 54 overall (second round) and No. 85 (third). They have three day-three picks: No. 156 (fifth), No. 206 (sixth) and No, 243 (seventh).
There's some sizeable gaps between picks for the Browns. Berry was asked about the chances of trying to move around to fill those gaps.
"You guys probably know me well enough that we can always be moving around," Berry said. "I'd say it's probably less so because of the gap in picks because we think about it less in terms of let's say the aggregate number of picks between our selections and more about, let's say, the ranges of the draft where you're getting similar talent, or historically, where you get similar talent. I think I've mentioned this before, once you get to that point in the draft, the likelihood that you're getting a starter or a role player, it flattens pretty significantly and probably a lot earlier than people maybe externally realize."
On Dawand Jones playing left tackle:"I think I said this in 2020, where tackles or tackles. I think the distinction between left tackle and right tackle is obsolete. We're in a division where (Steelers star( T.J. Watt plays on the offensive right the entire game. It's not really a lot that we've talked about. We're pleased with Dawand in terms of where he is. But like I said, I think the distinction of left and right tackle is obsolete."
On Mike Vrabel's role in personnel:"I won't go into the specifics, but I think any person who sat in a head coach's seat, they just have a broader perspective. No different than if you go from being a scout to a general manager, you just have a broader perspective in terms of team building and some of the challenges that come into place. There are a lot of good relationships with Mike in our building between (head coach) Kevin (Stefanski), myself, (defensive coordinator) Jim (Schwartz). We love having him around and we're using him in a variety of areas that we think that he can help with, but we're happy to have him aboard."
On cornerback Greg Newsome II trade rumors:"Yeah, I can't help what players come up and trade rumors. We have that every year, but we're pleased with Greg, anticipate him continue to playing a big role for us."
On conversations with Kevin Stefanski about staff changes:"We talk about staff just like we talk about players all the time. We really do view it as like a partnership. It really is almost like a marriage. So, I don't think maybe negotiation is the right way to characterize it. At the end of the day, we're trying to problem solve and find out and make the decisions that put the team in the best place to be competitive in the short and long term. So, I think every conversation starts from there and starts from a place where we don't have to question whether or not the other person has either individually like the other person's best interest in mind, or the team's best interest in mind. And that makes those more challenging conversations easier.
On involvement in deciding who calls plays:" I think I view myself as more of a sounding board in that I trust his judgment in that regard. And I think that with the play calling process, Kevin has his self-deprecating sense of humor, but he always says, okay, if you know how to read, you can be a play caller. I think the larger point there, or maybe he wouldn't say this, but I would say being a play caller, the play calling process, it's not Sunday or the least amount of work is on Sunday. A lot of it is the planning that you do throughout the week and the plan that you put together going into the game. There's certainly a feel element. I don't think anyone would dismiss that, but that's really the tip of the iceberg where it's really the process by which you get to your play sheet and how you organize it that really leads to success."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns general manager Andrew Berry addresses topics at owners meetings
