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Andrew Berry

Teams Proposing Pushing Trade Deadline From Week 8 To Week 10

February 28th, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Ben Levine

FEBRUARY 28: A half-measure move to Week 9 has generated some traction, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. The 49ers, Commanders, Eagles, Jets and Lions are joining the Browns’ push to propose moving the trade endpoint back. That said, disagreement exists among GMs and owners if the deadline needs to be moved at all.

Competitive balance reasons emerged when we last heard this matter brought up, and Jones adds the league wants to protect against potential tanking, something that could conceivably arise by giving sellers two extra weeks to determine their paths. The next round of league meetings are set for March 24-27.

FEBRUARY 27: While we heard a few months ago that the NFL is unlikely to delay their current trade-deadline setup, that won’t stop some teams from pushing for a change. During an appearance on PFT Live, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the Browns and several other teams have proposed pushing the trade deadline from the end of Week 8 to the end of Week 10 (via PFT on X).

[RELATED: NFL Unlikely To Move Trade Deadline]

While teams have a handful of reasons for pushing for a change to the deadline date, Berry noted that the most obvious logic is because the NFL never adapted the date when switching to an 18-week schedule. The NFL moved the deadline to Week 8 back in 2012, but they kept their deadline the same when they added a week to their schedule in 2021.

“We want to retroactively correct the fact that the trade deadline never moved when the season expanded to 17 games,” Berry told reporters (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “If, at some point in the future, the regular season expands to 18 games, we wanted to be proactive in terms of the positioning for the trade deadline.”

Further, Berry and rival teams believe that pushing the trade deadline back would only benefit the NFL as a whole. The expanded opportunity to improve a team via trade would assist with the “competitive integrity” of the league, according to the executive.

“We think as a league it makes sense to give teams the most flexibility as long as possible to have the best product down the stretch run of the playoffs,” Berry stated (h/t Spencer German of Browns Digest). “We wanted to make sure we maintained the competitive integrity of the season so you don’t get into player dumping late in the year.”

Berry also simply pointed to rival sports leagues as a reason for pushing back the NFL trade deadline. MLB’s trade deadline checks in around two thirds of the way through the season, while the NBA and NHL come after the half-way point of the campaign. The NFL deadline comes in at about 45% of the way through the season, and Berry noted to reporters that the proposed change would push that mark to about 55% of the way through the season. The GM also noted that a Week 10 deadline is notable because it’s been more than a decade since a team has been eliminated from postseason contention earlier than Week 11.

The NFL’s deadline change in 2012 led to an increase in in-season trading, and another change would only help to further increase the number of deals. After the 2022 deadline featured a record 10 trades on deadline day, multiple teams reached out to the league office about the prospect of moving the deadline back. Nothing came of it in time for the 2023 campaign, and while the NFL doesn’t sound overly receptive to making a change in 2024, Berry and his counterparts appear to have a strong argument when the owners meet next month.

Browns Expected To Extend HC Kevin Stefanski, GM Andrew Berry

February 12th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Browns dealt with a slew of injuries on offense in particular during the 2023 campaign, but they still managed to qualify for the postseason. In the wake of that performance, continuity on the sidelines and in the front office is expected.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry are each in line for extensions this offseason, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes. The pair arrived in Cleveland in 2020 and are under contract through 2024. Their collective showings would make it little surprise if ownership signed off on a new set of deals in the near future.

Cleveland ended a lengthy playoff drought and advanced to the divisional round in Stefanski’s first campaign at the helm. He earned Coach of the Year honors that season, but the team’s record dropped to 8-9 and then 7-10 in subsequent years. Amidst whispers in some circles about he and/or Berry being on the hot seat, things did not go as planned with running back Nick Chubb suffering a season-ending injury in 2023. The same was later true of quarterback Deshaun Watson, leading the Browns to rely on Joe Flacco under center down the stretch.

The latter won Comeback Player of the Year for his showings after arriving as a free agent midseason, which has helped his value considerably. The Browns are interested in retaining the former Super Bowl MVP despite having Watson atop the depth chart. Stability at the QB spot in 2024 would be a welcomed development as the team looks to build off a record of 11-6.

Stefanski earned his second Coach of the Year award as a result of the Browns’ ability to reach the playoffs despite their injury woes. Watson’s ailment marked another underwhelming development in his Cleveland tenure, which of course has been the defining aspect of Berry’s time with the franchise. The Browns sent Houston a package including three first-round picks to acquire the three-time Pro Bowler, something which was contingent on a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230MM contract. Watson’s suspension to open the 2022 season, his elbow injury this year and less-than-spectacular play in between led some to believe a change could be made in the organization.

However, a December report pointed to the Stefanski-Berry partnership likely being safe moving forward. This latest update confirms that sentiment, and Cleveland will be set up for stability if extensions are indeed worked out in the coming months. Both will have notable leverage in negotiations given the team’s performance this season as they aim to take a step forward in 2024 and beyond.

Browns Expect RB Nick Chubb Back In 2024, Also Want To Re-Sign QB Joe Flacco

January 24th, 2024 at 8:48pm CST by Ely Allen

It’s safe to say that the Browns’ 2023 campaign did not go according to plan. Still, thanks to some elite defense and wily moves from general manager Andrew Berry, Cleveland turned a seemingly lost season into a playoff appearance. Berry recently addressed the futures of both the player whose injury derailed their season and the player who may have salvaged it, per Jake Trotter of ESPN.

After only two games, a season-ending injury to running back Nick Chubb completely changed the outlook of the 2023 season. Without their star rusher, the Browns were forced to depend on second-year running back Jerome Ford and a re-signed veteran in Kareem Hunt. Even combined the two weren’t quite able to replicate the production lost in Chubb’s absence, leaving the team to depend on the quarterback position. When injuries seemed to ravage the quarterbacks room, as well, the team signed veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, who eventually unseated the Browns’ backups and took his place as a starter for Cleveland, leading them to a 4-1 record as a starter before a first-round playoff exit.

Berry made it clear that, despite Chubb holding a $15.83MM cap hit in 2024 and Chubb’s contract containing an out wherein the team can cut him with only $4MM of dead cap after the fact, he expects Chubb to be on the team in 2024. “No one in the organization, nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh be the last time that he carries the ball for the Cleveland Browns,” Berry told the media. “Obviously, there are things that we’ll have to work through, but (moving on from Chubb) would not be our intention.”

One of the things to work through is likely that cap number in 2024. Chubb is heading into a contract year, so it’s naturally a good time to start looking into an extension, if that’s what the team prefers. Doing so would allow them to hold on to Chubb, who likely still has plenty left in the tank, while structuring new cap numbers that push big hits further into the future. Chubb has incentive to take a new deal, as well, since he has already received all the guaranteed money on his deal and that 2023 potential out could leave him high-and-dry.

Flacco, on the other hand, seems to hold a bit more leverage in his negotiations. Berry praised Flacco for playing winning football but stopped short of expressing an expectation for his return, as well, claiming that it will depend “on the availability and the cost.” Flacco has made it clear that his one-year deal in Cleveland was meant to give himself the flexibility to look for other deals at the end of the season, and he certainly played himself into a favorable position there.

Chubb is widely expected to return to Cleveland in 2024. It’ll likely be under a new deal that grants Chubb new guaranteed money while lessening his impact on the team’s cap space. Flacco, though, is expected to test the waters of free agency. He likes to take jobs that give him a strong chance at a starting role, so unless he feels that the Browns give him the best chance to start, it’s hard to picturing him returning.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski, GM Andrew Berry Not In Danger Of Being Fired

December 2nd, 2023 at 10:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 2023 season has not gone according to plan for the Browns from an injury perspective, but the team is in a playoff spot entering Week 13. As a result, the job security for head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry is not a talking point.

Both entered the season with considerable expectations given the strength of Cleveland’s roster, and the annual regression in the win-loss department which had taken place during their three-year tenures. However, season-ending injuries to the likes of running back Nick Chubb and, more recently, quarterback Deshaun Watson have not prevented a 7-4 start and the strong chance of a postseason berth. The team’s success so far has chased away the possibility of a change on the sideline or in the front office.

Both Stefanski and Berry are “here to stay,” Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports (subscription required). The former earned Coach of the Year honors in 2020 after leading the team to a record of 11-5 and making it to the divisional round of the playoffs. A step back to 8-9 followed, though, along with a 7-10 mark in 2022, the first year with Watson at the helm (though his suspension delayed his Browns debut until Week 12 during that campaign). That regression led some to believe the heat could quickly increase on the Stefanski-Berry regime barring improvements.

No coaching change took place this past offseason, to no surprise, and Stefanski’s coaching performance in 2023 has likewise unsurprisingly earned him a longer leash. The Browns are tied to the decision to acquire Watson – a move which included a trade package of three first-round picks followed by a fully guaranteed $230MM contract – and the repercussions which will come from it. The former Texans Pro Bowler has not lived up to expectations so far in Cleveland, but the team’s ability to win without him in the lineup or playing to his previous level when on the field has drawn rave reviews.

That will continue to be tested as Joe Flacco is set to start in Week 13 with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson sidelined. Adding the veteran late in the season could prove to be a shrewd move if it allows the Browns to continue winning with a severely shorthanded offense and push for a postseason berth in the crowded AFC. Even if that does not prove to be the case, though, both Stefanski and Berry appear to have earned themselves extra leeway heading into the offseason.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

July 6th, 2023 at 9:25am CST by Sam Robinson

The latest NFL general manager hiring cycle only produced two changes, but each took over for an executive who appeared in good standing at this point last year.

Steve Keim had held his Cardinals GM post since January 2013, and the Cardinals gave both he and Kliff Kingsbury extensions — deals that ran through 2027 — in March of last year. Arizona has since rebooted, moving on from both Keim and Kingsbury. Keim took a leave of absence late last season, and the Cardinals replaced him with ex-Titans exec Monti Ossenfort.

[RELATED: The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches]

As the Cardinals poached one of the Titans’ top front office lieutenants, Tennessee went with an NFC West staffer to replace Jon Robinson. The move to add 49ers FO bastion Ran Carthon also came less than a year after the Titans reached extension agreements with both Robinson and HC Mike Vrabel. But controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk canned Robinson — in place as GM since January 2016 — before last season ended. Adams Strunk cited player unavailability and roster quality among the reasons she chose to move on despite having extended Robinson through the 2027 draft months earlier. The Titans are now pairing Vrabel and Carthon.

The Bills reached an extension agreement with GM Brandon Beane two weeks ago. Hired shortly after the team gave Sean McDermott the HC keys, Beane has helped the Bills to five playoff berths in six seasons. Beane’s deal keeps him signed through 2027. Chargers GM Tom Telesco has hit the 10-year mark leading that front office, while this year also marks the 10th offseason of Buccaneers honcho Jason Licht‘s tenure running the NFC South team. Although Jim Irsay fired Frank Reich and later admitted he reluctantly extended his former HC in 2021, the increasingly active Colts owner has expressed confidence in Chris Ballard.

Here is how the NFL’s GM landscape looks going into the 2023 season:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
  4. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  5. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  6. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010; signed extension in 2022
  7. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2022
  8. Tom Telesco (Los Angeles Chargers): January 9, 2013; signed extension in 2018
  9. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2021
  10. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  11. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  12. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  13. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  14. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  15. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018; agreed to extension in 2022
  16. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  17. Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
  18. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
  19. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  20. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  21. Scott Fitterer (Carolina Panthers): January 14, 2021
  22. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021
  23. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  24. Trent Baalke (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 21, 2021
  25. Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders): January 22, 2021
  26. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  27. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  28. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022
  29. Dave Ziegler (Las Vegas Raiders): January 30, 2022
  30. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022
  31. Monti Ossenfort (Arizona Cardinals): January 16, 2023
  32. Ran Carthon (Tennessee Titans): January 17, 2023

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

Browns Eyeing Pass Rush Addition

April 22nd, 2023 at 2:54pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Browns have already invested heavily on defense this offseason, bringing in a new coordinator and multiple big-ticket free agents. Further moves along the edge in particular can be expected.

Cleveland has made one addition to their current pass rushing group, inking Obo Okoronkwo to a three-year, $19MM deal. The former Ram and Texan is set to take on a starting role alongside Myles Garrett, something which appeared to be necessary once it became clear Jadeveon Clowney would not be re-signing with the Browns. The latter has yet to find a new home.

Garrett and Okoronkwo are in line to start and carry a heavy workload, but the Browns are lacking in experienced depth beyond those two. Cleveland used third- and seventh-round picks on Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas last year, and have room for at least one more addition either in the upcoming draft or free agency. General manager Andrew Berry confirmed that the team is preparing to bring in more new faces in the pass rush department.

“I would expect us to add more than that,” Berry said, via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “We’re going to get to 90 eventually. I can’t say if that’s going to be on draft weekend or in May or in August, but I’d expect us to add to that room.”

Garrett earned a third straight Pro Bowl nod in 2022 after notching 16 sacks for the second consecutive season. The Browns’ next leading producer in terms of sacks was new Colts defensive tackle Taven Bryan with only three, however, highlighting the team’s need to invest in Okoronkwo and others this offseason. The draft and free agency each present options for Cleveland to consider.

The Browns aren’t set to pick until No. 74, but they own eight total selections. They should have a number of Day 2 and 3 prospects to choose from, though any rookie likely won’t be counted on to provide much of an immediate impact given the nature of the team’s depth chart. After the draft is over, veterans at all positions who have yet to catch on to a roster will receive increased attention. With respect to edge rushers, that means Clowney, along with the likes of Frank Clark, Yannick Ngakoue and Leonard Floyd will likely come off the market quickly. Any of those names could be paired with another draft addition to provide the Browns with a more complete edge group entering the 2023 season.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

June 30th, 2022 at 10:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Wednesday, we took a look at how the 2022 offseason changed the HC landscape. While 10 new sideline leaders are in place for 2022, not quite as much turnover transpired on the general manager front. Five new decision-makers, however, have moved to the top of teams’ front office hierarchies over the past six months.

The Bears, Giants, Raiders and Vikings rebooted their entire operations, hiring new HC-GM combos. The Minnesota move bumped out one of the previous top-10 longest-tenured GMs, with 16-year Vikings exec Rick Spielman no longer in power in the Twin Cities. The Steelers’ shakeup took the NFL’s longest-tenured pure GM out of the mix. Kevin Colbert was with the Steelers since 2000, and although he is still expected to remain with the team in a reduced capacity, the 22-year decision-maker stepped down shortly after Ben Roethlisberger wrapped his career.

Twelve teams have now hired a new GM in the past two offseasons, though a bit more staying power exists here compared to the HC ranks. Two GMs (the Cardinals’ Steve Keim and Chargers’ Tom Telesco) have begun their 10th years at the helms of their respective front offices. They have hired three HCs apiece. The Buccaneers’ Jason Licht is closing in on a decade in power in Tampa Bay; Licht will now work with his fourth HC in Todd Bowles. Beyond that, a bit of a gap exists. But a handful of other executives have been in power for at least five seasons.

Here is how long every GM or de facto GM has been in place with his respective franchise:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
  4. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  5. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  6. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010; signed extension in 2022
  7. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2019
  8. Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013; signed extension in 2022
  9. Tom Telesco (Los Angeles Chargers): January 9, 2013; signed extension in 2018
  10. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2021
  11. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  12. Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016; signed extension in 2022
  13. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  14. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  15. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  16. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  17. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
  18. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  19. Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
  20. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
  21. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  22. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  23. Scott Fitterer (Carolina Panthers): January 14, 2021
  24. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021
  25. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  26. Trent Baalke (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 21, 2021
  27. Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders): January 22, 2021
  28. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  29. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  30. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022
  31. Dave Ziegler (Las Vegas Raiders): January 30, 2022
  32. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

Browns Rumors: Hunt, Watson

May 22nd, 2022 at 8:28pm CST by Ely Allen

Browns running back Kareem Hunt is heading into a contract year for the 2022 NFL season, after only appearing in eight games last year. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com spoke on the contract situation, reporting that it seems very up in the air for now.

Hunt entered the 2021 season as the back up to Nick Chubb, racking up 361 rushing yards, along with five touchdowns before suffering a calf injury that would land him on injured reserve. He appeared in two more games after returning from injured reserve, but sat for the last four games of the season.

Cabot posits that if negotiations can be dealt with before camp is underway, it would bode well for Cleveland’s chances to keep the Hunt-Chubb tandem together. If no deal is reached by the time the season starts, though, it would be much less likely that Hunt stays in the orange and brown.

Hunt showed in Kansas City that he can be a lead back, and, with Nick Chubb firmly planted above him on the depth chart, Hunt may be willing to let this year be an audition to other teams to show that he is healthy and ready to take over lead-back responsibilities once again.

Here are a few more rumors from Cleveland, these concerning newly acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson:

  • Cleveland turned a lot of heads when they gave up a package that included three first-round draft picks to acquire Watson and then gave him a fully-guaranteed contract for $230MM, despite the 22 civil lawsuits he faces for alleged sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Mike Sando of The Athletic heard from several executives from around the NFL who thought the moved reeked of desperation. Many thought the deal showed team owner Jimmy Haslam putting head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry in a bind, forcing a move the two likely wouldn’t otherwise have made. They claim the move gives Watson undue power to force decisions and do whatever he wants, saying he “doesn’t need to listen to anybody.” One executive said that rewarding Watson with the fully-guaranteed contract basically was a statement that all of his publicized issues don’t matter.
  • Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic enlisted the help of Jason Fitzgerald, operator of OverTheCap.com, to talk about some of the deals made around the NFL this offseason. Fitzgerald addressed the opinion that Watson’s legal situation being ignored in the awarding of his fully-guaranteed contract will set a new precedent for guaranteed contacts around the league. “I don’t think it will,” Fitzgerald said. He continued, “I know I’m in the minority on that…He was basically a free agent. The Texans said, ‘Go out and sell yourself to these teams.’ And that was what he did…Deshaun Watson was essentially a free agent. I don’t think there’s any other quarterbacks that ever make it to free agency to where they’re even gonna have that opportunity.” He compared the situation to Kirk Cousins, when he signed his first fully-guaranteed deal, ignoring the obvious publicity issues that come with Watson’s situation. He even mentioned earlier in the article that he saw Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson pursuing a situation that will play out similar to Cousins’. So it’s strange that a couple teams later in the article, he would claim that the precedent doesn’t matter because he thinks it likely won’t happen again. Regardless, Fitzgerald seemed to acknowledge that a precedent may have been set, but minimized the importance of that precedent on the assumption that similar situations would be few and far between.

AFC North Rumors: Johnson, Cleveland, Pittsburgh

April 22nd, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Ely Allen

Heading into a contract year, Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson is rumored to want to stay in Pittsburgh long-term, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. The fourth-year player out of Toledo has improved every year. Johnson’s reception-yardage-touchdown totals have increased from 59-680-5 in 2019 to 88-923-7 in 2020 to 107-1161-8 in 2021, and he received Pro Bowl honors in his last year with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.

According to Fowler, Johnson appears to be willing to play out the end of his contract, believing he can once again improve his play in his fourth year and prove he can be a top NFL wide receiver.

Here are a few more rumors from around the AFC North, starting with some Draft rumors for the Browns:

  • After trading the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Texans in the Deshaun Watson-trade, Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry says it’s “unlikely” that the team will trade back up into the first round, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Berry claims they haven’t ruled it out completely, but, for the most part, the Browns seem comfortable allowing Watson to act as their first round addition and waiting until the 44th overall pick to make their first official selection of the Draft.
  • Not a rumor, but more of an AFC North note, the Steelers made an addition to their coaching staff this week. According to the team’s website, David Corley was named the Steelers’ assistant quarterbacks coach. Corley played quarterback in college, choosing to attend William & Mary despite being recruited by Clemson, South Carolina, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech. He also had short playing stints in the Canadian and Arena Football Leagues. Corley began his coaching career at C.A. Johnson Prep as the team’s quarterbacks coach. He alternated between position coaching gigs at his alma mater and NFL internships over the next couple of years going from the Tribe’s running backs coach to the Steelers to the Tribe’s quarterbacks coach to the Panthers and back to William & Mary as the receivers coach. Corley then took a job at UConn where he rose through the ranks from running backs coach to wide receivers/special teams coach to offensive coordinator/special teams coach. After stints at Army and Penn State as a wide receivers coach, Corley returned to the NFL taking an internship for the Texans. After spending a season each as the wide receivers coach at South Carolina State and running backs coach at Richmond, Corley took an internship with the Panthers. Despite the lengthy resume, this will be Corley’s first official NFL coaching job. He will be tasked with assisting new quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan in guiding the Steelers through the post-Roethlisberger era. Following the tragic death of former-Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Corley’s position room currently holds only Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky. Whether drafted or otherwise, the Steelers will almost certainly add another young name to the room for Corley and Sullivan to start molding.

Haslam: Browns GM Proposed Fully Guaranteed Deshaun Watson Deal

March 30th, 2022 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns’ decision to make a major quarterback upgrade has generated multifront pushback, given Deshaun Watson‘s off-field trouble and the contract structure’s effect on other teams’ future QB negotiations. The fully guaranteed $230MM did not surface until late in the process.

Watson initially rejected the Browns, and Jimmy Haslam said third-year GM Andrew Berry approached him with a radical idea to put the team back in the mix for the Pro Bowl passer. Berry pitched the idea of a fully guaranteed contract to move the needle, Haslam said. The result: a five-year deal that saw the Browns break the NFL’s record for fully guaranteed money authorized by $80MM.

“I don’t how much Andrew knew,” Haslam said of other teams’ contract offers, via the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich. “First of all, I don’t know what’s accurate. [Berry] just said, ‘Would we consider fully guaranteeing it?’ OK. What’s that mean? When’s the money due? Do you do four versus five [years]. Can we make this work? And he got us comfortable with that.”

Although four teams were finalists for Watson, it appears just one was willing to go to this extreme place. Watson refusing to waive his no-trade clause for the Browns may well have centered on Cleveland’s weather compared to the three NFC South cities in this mix. Browns co-owner Dee Haslam said Wednesday she believed this was the case. While Berry’s fully guaranteed pitch is quite the step to convince a quarterback to play in northeast Ohio, Watson had three other teams pursuing him.

The Falcons were on the verge of landing the Atlanta-area native, appearing to finish second ahead of the Saints and Panthers in this unusual pursuit. The Panthers were not comfortable guaranteeing the final two years of Watson’s contract, Ulrich adds, and Arthur Blank did not make it sound like the Falcons were prepared to authorize this landmark guarantee, either. Blank said the Falcons were only doing due diligence when they met with Watson, though the team being later reported as on the verge of landing him would contradict the owner’s view of his team’s interest.

“You have to leave that to Jimmy and Dee Haslam, to make their own judgment,” Blank said, via USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. “The fact it’s $80MM above the highest contract ever given, guaranteed, in the history of the league, 102 years old, says a lot. Whether most teams in the NFL or any other team in the NFL would have committed to that contract, I don’t know. That certainly is a huge commitment.”

It is interesting contract matters played into these talks, considering Watson had only played one season on the $39MM-per-year deal he signed with the Texans in 2020. Technically, Watson was tied to that contract for two years, since Houston deactivated him throughout the 2021 season. But that Texans deal ran through 2025. Watson having a no-trade clause gave him considerable power, and the bidding war led to the Browns making an offer he could not refuse.

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