With mandatory minicamp in the rearview mirror, the Cleveland Browns set off for their summer vacation and a nice reset for everyone involved. For the NFL, the Browns once again became the biggest storyline with the trade of DE Myles Garrett. GM Andrew Berry made the huge move, with DE Jared Verse the key to the deal, while adding draft picks for the future.
Berry has made it a habit of making big trades, including three in the last year plus. The last two years have turned the Browns roster from one of the oldest in the NFL to one of the youngest, while Berry survived the ending of his long-standing partnership with former HC Kevin Stefanski.
After barely hearing from Berry last year, the Cleveland GM has been more engaged with the media this season, including being a guest on The Schrager Hour on ESPN.
A simple recap of Berry’s appearance (with the video embedded below):
- Talked Spurs roster
- Very clear that Berry follows basketball in a detailed way
- NBA GMs he talks to: Koby Altman, Chris Antoinette. Sam Presti, Chaim Bloom, Kyle Dubas
- Noted that he is very close with Howie Roseman, but there are things he just can’t talk to him about
- Variables/hit rates – Compare other major deals (Parsons, Q. Williams, Sauce, Maxx Crosby)
- When talking about the Myles Garrett trade, he noted that NFL draft hit rates are just much lower than generally assumed, so adding Verse raised the floor of the deal quite a bit compared to other all-draft-pick trades, which may have higher ceilings
- Few/if any, teams could hit their three requirements plus Myles’ no-trade clause
- As he discussed before, getting a young star player and draft picks were key, but Garrett’s no-trade clause added another huge limit to which teams could even be in the discussion
- Trust vital for AB in trade talks
- If the GM he was talking to about a Garrett trade was one he didn’t know or didn’t trust, it sounded like he would not have had the conversations
- What they are building and how they saw the roster timeline:
- 2023 – Injured, end of prime
- 2024 – Didn’t go as expected
- 2025 – Big decisions, “pivot”
- New foundation needed
- 2025, 2026 draft
- Tyson Campbell
- Zion Johnson
- Jared Verse
- “We’re a young team, that is certainly by design. We’ll certainly have our growing pains.”
- Todd Monken – Young coordinators
- “In terms of quarterback, it’s been a good competition” (SS, DW)
- Watson healthy
- Sanders “big strides”
- 2027 draft – “The ability to compete every season is sacred. We owe that (to everyone basically).”
- “We don’t want to put a ceiling on the team.“ Mentions Vegas win totals, Patriots in 2025
- “I like how we are positioned.”
- “Saturday games at a college venue… it’s one of the best parts of...
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