Encouraged by a 5-3 start, Browns GM Andrew Berry won’t tip his hand on major decisions awaiting him

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Takeaways from Browns GM Andrew Berry’s ‘state of the team’ address …

Only a half-season on the job, Andrew Berry is too smart to say anything incendiary to rock the boat of a Browns season sailing along fairly smoothly.

The Browns’ young general manager declined to fan the flames of playoff hopes for his 5-3 team, fell short of expressing frustration with the team’s lackluster losing efforts to division powers Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and refused to tip his hand about off-season priorities.

Berry said that Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff have done a “fantastic” job, and described the organization’s feelings about the first half of the season as “encouraged but incomplete.”

Berry chooses his words carefully. So sometimes what he doesn’t say sends a stronger message than what he does say.

And in discussing the future of two of the Browns’ biggest names – Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker Mayfield – Berry was measured in his endorsement of each.

On Beckham

Berry disclosed Beckham will have the surgery to repair his left ACL early next week.

When it came to addressing the latest wave of national bluster that Beckham is not long for the Browns, Berry declined to criticize speculation by Ian Rapoport of the NFL’s own media company that Beckham may have played his last down for the Browns.

“Odell is one of the best receivers in the NFL,” Berry said. “He played really good football for us before he was injured. He has done a fantastic job with his teammates and at practice. He has embraced the organization. He is under contract for multiple years. Our focus with Odell is making sure that he recovers from the ACL tear. We want him to be healthy and ready to go next year, but we are pleased with him.”

Asked directly if he views Beckham as a long-term player with the Browns, Berry said, “I feel like this is a question that I have literally addressed every week since I took the job. Really at this point in time, I really do not see a difference.”

Pressed a second time to debunk Rapoport’s speculation, Berry said, “I would say, to me, and respectfully, I feel like I have answered this question enough. I can’t control what the outside noise says.”

Beckham is under contract through 2023. About $12.8 million of his $13.75 million salary in 2021 is guaranteed for injury. That alone would seem to assure Beckham will be with the Browns next season. It’s hard to fathom a team trading for him without seeing him back on the field first. And that might not happen until 10 months from the time of his surgery, which may be September.

On Mayfield

Much of Berry’s offseason investment in free agency and the draft was to surround Mayfield with a support system that would bring out the best in him and help clarify his future.

After this season, the Browns have to decide in May whether to pick up Mayfield’s fifth-year option in 2022 for a fully guaranteed salary of about $25 million, decline it and let Mayfield play out his fourth season, or negotiate a long-term contract.

Mayfield currently ranks 26th in completion percentage (61.4), 25th in interceptions (seven) and 25th in passer rating (90.9). But he is the quarterback of a 5-3 team in the thick of the AFC wild card race.

“I think Baker has done a nice job,” Berry said. “He has done a nice job of putting us in a position to win games in the first eight weeks of the season. I think we have all seen him progress on a week-to-week basis. He has done a nice job of learning the system and getting more comfortable in the system, and again, ultimately putting the team in a position to win. We are certainly pleased with him from that perspective.”

Asked about the decisions the organization is facing about Mayfield after the season, Berry said, “Honestly, I really do not get too caught up in that type of narrative. All I know is that I think Baker has played well and he has done a nice job during these first eight weeks. He has allowed us to play winning football. We have had winning football from that position. Expect him to keep doing that over the second half of the year. Look, we are going to be in a good place as a team and organization if that is the case.”

On other matters

• Berry said he came within “striking distance” on a couple transactions before Tuesday’s trade deadline, but the trades “either moved away from us or we moved away from it for various reasons. We are really happy with the team that we have in place, and we are looking forward to the next eight games.”
• Berry is not as down on the defense as fans. “We just have to make more plays really at every level of the defense,” he said. “I know that that is something that Kevin and [defensive coordinator] Joe [Woods] are working on during our self-scout week during the bye. That being said, we have had guys that have stepped up in key moments throughout the first half of the season. Certainly, we have had some standout performances, but have a resilient group on that side of the ball that I think will continue to improve as we go throughout the season.”
• He tried to dispute the prevailing opinion that defense will be the team’s priority in the offseason because many of his defensive acquisitions this year were given one-year contracts. “I think we do have a number of young players on that side of the ball that we are excited about,” Berry said. “Again, our goal is to add talent up and down the roster. I do not know that there needs to be too much read into perhaps the specificity of our approach this past winter.”