GMs talk about alot of things at NFL owners meetings. So this chance conversation between Andrew Berry and Eagles GM Howie Roseman didn't necessarily have to do with Myles Garrett. Or did it? (TheLandOnDemand)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
PHOENIX, AZ
Whatever plan Andrew Berry has of reviving the Browns from 8-26 the past two seasons apparently doesn’t include trading Myles Garrett for draft assets.
Apparently … but not exactly unequivocally.
In a 30-minute sit-down on Sunday with Northeast Ohio media on the first day of NFL owners meetings at the sumptuous Arizona Biltmore Resort, the Browns GM delivered the proper platitudes to Garrett but didn’t quite say, “We’re not trading him.”
“He is one of the faces of our organization,” Berry said. “I think we've been very clear both past and present in terms of our goals. I understand all the questions. I'll be honest, I don't really want to waste a ton more breath on the topic.”
Garrett requested a trade a year ago and the topic resurfaced last week when the Browns modified Garrett’s $160 million, four-year contract extension. Salary cap experts analyzed the move as making it easier to trade Garrett amid the complexities of his new contract.
Berry defused that angle by saying, “I guess probably the easiest thing to say is if we wanted to trade Myles, we wouldn't need to make a contract adjustment, so it doesn't have anything to do with that.”
He wouldn’t comment, however, why the adjustment was made, falling back on his standard line of “I don’t comment on contracts.”
Nobody disputes Garrett’s place as the pre-eminent defensive player in the NFL, a two-time defensive player-of-the-year. I pressed Berry on why he wouldn’t explore using that fantastic asset to improve the team in the long run.
“We'll always do what we think is in the best interest of the organization,” he responded. “We really like our core. I think as we look at the team, we have an elite young defense. We have a really rebuilt offensive line. We have nine picks this upcoming draft and I think seven are in the top 150, three in the top 40. We have a good offensive young core that we brought in last year. And honestly, as we saw last year, there are more than one way to generate assets in the NFL.
“So we'll always do what's best for the organization, but we feel really good about our roster right now before the draft.”
Ironically, Berry had a brief conversation with Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman before meeting the media.
Maybe we’re parsing words on this Garrett story. Anything the Browns do with Garrett hinges on the whims of ownership, anyway. So it will be a topic with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam in a scheduled meeting with NE Ohio media on Monday.
On other topics, Berry:
* Declined to handicap the expected quarterback competition between, ostensibly, Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson.
“We wouldn't be doing the right thing for that position if we didn't go in with eyes wide open,” he said.
Berry stressed that the spring season, beginning when new coach Todd Monken’s offseason program opens on April 7, will be an important liftoff to the QB competition.
“I think all of our guys coming in, they're going to learn a new offensive system,” he said. “We're going to have a fair amount of turnover on that side of the ball, they'll have new teammates to learn, which is why the spring will be really important for the guys that are at the offseason program for us to really, really get a sense of their progress year over year.
“But [Sanders has been] working really hard. I would expect him to take a step forward and we'll deal with that kind of week by week and month by month.”
As to a fourth QB addition to the room, Berry said he leans to a younger quarterback, but wouldn’t rule out anything.
* Raised the possibility that newly acquired offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins could open the season as the starting center.
Jenkins, one of three veteran O-linemen acquired in free agency or trade, had his best years in Green Bay at left guard. But he started nine games at center last year before a season-ending injury.
Luke Wypler was the heir-apparent to center Ethan Pocic, who won’t be back, but Wypler suffered a knee injury in Game 17. Berry has said Wypler will be ready for the start of training camp. But he labeled the center position “TBD” (to be determined).
“That's something that we're going to sort out as we get a little bit further through the acquisition season,” Berry said. “We would view [Jenkins] more as an interior player. That is what we think is more his natural home. Whether it's center or whether it's guard, we'll work through that as we put together a position group.”
* Could not conceal that left tackle is a position of need.
“I'd say between Dawand [Jones], Tytus [Howard] has obviously played there before and was a college left tackle as well. We've had KT [Leveston], so we do have options there,” Berry contended.
But it’s no secret the Browns are considering left tackles and wide receivers with their No. 6 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft.
It has been reported that the Browns have had seven receivers and only one tackle – mid-round projected left tackle Markel Bell of Miami -- visit their faciility in the so-called Top 30 pre-draft visits.
With a wry grin, Berry said, “I would not … can’t believe everything you read.”
He conceded “a lot” of the top offensive linemen have paid Top 30 visits to the Browns.
* Did not profess a lot of hope that his proposal to trade up to five years of future draft picks, instead of the present three years, will pass, or even come up for an owners vote.
“Honestly, I think a lot of the perhaps resistance to this idea is that a desperate general manager, a desperate head coach, could leverage a team's future irresponsibly. I think that's a little bit more rooted in fear than reality though,” he said.
Ultimately, though, Berry knows that such radical rule changes need years of discussion to be passed, and he wanted to get the ball rolling on this particular one.