ORLANDO, FLA. — The NFL’s owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., have now come and gone. It’s another milepost passed in the league’s offseason on the journey back to real football being played.
During the three days in Central Florida, some of the top people in the Browns organization spoke to a small group of beat writers, including the Beacon Journal. Those individuals talking, at various points, included owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski.
This is the second of three stories looking at the takeaways from each of those three conversations. Friday’s centered on the Haslams, while this one looks at what Berry said.
Andrew Berry feels much more comfortable in his job
That has nothing to do with the success the Browns had last year in going to the playoffs. Nor does it have anything to do with the contract extensions that the Haslams said were coming down the road soon for he and Stefanski.
This is about Berry the person and how he feels. Allow him to speak on it himself.
“It’s pretty cool because you learn a number of new skills seemingly every year,” Berry said. “I even think about it like, OK, sitting with you guys (the beat writers) today versus … the first time I did this when I was 28 in Berea (as an assistant general manager) and how much I dreaded it. That was the thing I dreaded the most about the job was talking to you all and thinking about, I guess at this point, probably eight years later, just even thinking about the growth in something as small as that, let alone the other skills that you develop that are outside of football, just kind of managing an organization or managing people.”
It was certainly a Berry who was more talkative and who seemed much more comfortable within the give-and-take with the five media members sitting across from him in a small meeting room inside the JW Marriott Grande Lakes. That, as he himself said, has to translate into the parts of the job where he’s going toe-to-toe with some of the best executives in sports.
Comfortability also extends to many of the Browns’ own free agents
Free agency has typically been used by many of the best teams in the NFL as a chef may use spices or other seasonings. Add a touch here or there, but not enough to overwhelm the overall dish.
Berry clearly valued the Browns roster from a year ago, especially on defense. While he did sign a number of outside free agents, he also focused on bringing back a large number of the team’s own unrestricted free agents.
“I think once your roster becomes more mature and you have an established core, the balance will lean more retention than maybe external signings,” Berry said. “Whether it’s early extensions for guys or veterans that may hit the market initially and bring them back. … We also thought we had a pretty good baseline. We were really pleased with the team last year, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.”
If there’s a twist to that, it’s with Berry’s first draft class, from 2020, who were eligible for free agency. He had already picked up the fifth-year option for first-round left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., and second-round safety Grant Delpit was signed last season to a new three-year extension.
The rest of the class, though, has either departed or appears to be on its way out. That group includes third-round picks Jordan Elliott (signed with San Francisco 49ers) and Jacob Phillips (free agent), fourth-round pick Harrison Bryant (signed with Las Vegas Raiders), fifth-round pick Nick Harris (signed with Seattle Seahawks) and sixth-round pick Donovan Peoples-Jones (traded last November to Detroit Lions).
Dawand Jones may have a future at left tackle
The Browns, when all three are healthy, have a problem. They have three starting-caliber tackles — Wills, Jack Conklin and Dawand Jones — for two spots.
It’s led to the inevitable question of whether or not Jones, who will be entering his second pro season, can play left tackle. He’s only played it a sparring amount of times while at Ohio State, and never in a regular-season NFL game.
Berry may have merely been talking when he provided an answer to that specific question. Or, maybe he was providing a miniscule glimpse into the future.
“I think I said this in 2020 where tackles are tackles,” Berry said. “I think the distinction between left tackle and right tackle is obsolete. We’re in a division where T.J. Watt plays on our 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.”
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: Andrew Berry finds ‘comfortability’ in role: Browns Takeaways
