Tag: Berry

Nov 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) is introduced before the game between the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Browns GM: ‘Increasingly unlikely’ Nick Chubb returns to team

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry didn’t sound too optimistic about unsigned star running back Nick Chubb making an immediate return to the club.

The writing likely was on the wall when the Browns selected Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft and Tennessee rusher Dylan Sampson in the fourth. They also recently renegotiated the contract of fellow running back Jerome Ford.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I would say it’s probably increasingly unlikely,” Berry told 92.3 The Fan on Friday morning. “I’d say maybe a return is less likely, at least in the short term, with us right now.”

Berry added that “we haven’t necessarily been in strong communication after the draft.”

Chubb, 29, has played in only 10 games over the past two seasons due to knee and foot injuries. He rushed for 332 yards and three scores in eight starts in 2024.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time 1,000-yard rusher, Chubb ranks third in franchise history with 6,843 rushing yards behind Pro Football Hall of Fame members Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly.

Judkins led the national champion Buckeyes with 1,060 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season.

Sampson, the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year last year, set school single-season records for rushing yards (1,491) and touchdowns (22).

Ford, 25, rushed for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games (six starts) last season, adding 37 catches for 225 yards.

He has 1,390 rushing yards, 544 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 44 games (18 starts) since the Browns picked him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson heads to the sideline during the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Browns GM: Deshaun Watson experienced ‘setback’ with Achilles

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson experienced a post-surgery setback in his recovery from a ruptured Achilles, general manager Andrew Berry said Monday.

Berry was informed Sunday that Watson’s recovery went off track but he’s unclear whether the timeline for Watson’s return to the field has changed.

“Yesterday as we went through our normal player medical process, we did learn he did have a setback in his Achilles recovery. We don’t have all the details and everything yet, but it will obviously extend the recovery process for him,” Berry said.

Asked whether Watson could require another Achilles operation, Berry wasn’t definitive about the next steps.

“I don’t have all of those details,” Berry said Monday. “He did raise it to the doctors. I’m not trying to be evasive here. It’s all really new.”

The Browns reworked Watson’s contract last month to soften the salary cap hit for 2025 and have said they plan to address their QB position. Injuries have been a constant of Watson’s tenure in Cleveland since he signed a $230 million fully guaranteed contract.

Watson, 29, played seven games in 2024 and ended the season on injured reserve because of surgery for the second consecutive season. Watson played 12 total games in his first two seasons with the Browns (2022-23).

Cleveland started Bailey Zappe in Saturday’s loss at Baltimore and fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after one season. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was noncommittal about his QB plans for 2024 and Berry again on Monday said the Browns were planning to pursue other quarterbacks before they learned of the latest Watson news.

“I wouldn’t say it has a significant impact,” Berry said.

–Field Level Media

Jan 8, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) in the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Browns GM: Restructuring QB Deshaun Watson’s contract ‘on the table’

Posted on | by Field Level Media

One year after Deshaun Watson signed a fully guaranteed $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, the franchise is looking to restructure the deal to create much-needed salary cap space.

Watson’s cap charge for the next four seasons is a record $54,993,000, and general manager Andrew Berry said restructuring the contract is an option.

“It could be on the table,” Berry said, “But there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of what we can do.”

Watson is scheduled for a base salary of $46 million and is charged $8.993 million for his signing bonus.

Cleveland is projected to be $14.373 million over the 2023 salary cap as of Tuesday.

The highest salary cap charge in the history of the NFL for a single season to date was $39 million.

NFL teams have until March 15 to align their finances and be compliant with the 2023 salary cap of $224.8 million.

–Field Level Media

A Cleveland Browns fan shows support for quarterback Baker Mayfield during the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Cleveland. Browns 19 1

Browns GM: QB Baker Mayfield the starter in 2022

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Browns general manager Andrew Berry appears to have invested in a front-row seat for the Baker Mayfield redemption tour in 2022.

Berry said Tuesday that Mayfield, who needs left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, is Cleveland’s expected starter next season despite a downturn in his performance and production in 2021.

“We know his work ethic. We know his drive,” Berry said Tuesday. “We see him as a talented passer in this league. We expect him to bounce back next year.”

Berry and the Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Mayfield’s contract prior to the 2021 season. Mayfield said he wasn’t concerned about his long-term contract status. If left unchanged, the existing deal leaves him relatively unprotected in the event of injury on the heels of a season in which he was a fixture on the injury report.

Mayfield did not play in the regular-season finale in Week 18 with the Browns eliminated from playoff contention. He said injuries had limited him since the second week of the regular season but didn’t want to use them as an excuse. He was sacked nine times in his final game of the season, a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 4 that left him with a 6-8 record as a starter in 2021.

Backup Case Keenum started the finale and said he applauds Mayfield’s toughness.

“I don’t want to speak for him. I can only speak for myself and what I saw,” Keenum said. “I did have a front-row seat to one of the toughest, gutsiest performances of a quarterback playing through a season that I’ve ever seen. Battling a lot of things.”

Mayfield had 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions with 3,563 yards in 2020 and totaled 17 touchdowns with 13 interceptions and 3,010 yards in 2021.

The guaranteed option pays him $18.86 million in 2022. More than half of the NFL’s 32 teams could be in the market for a starting quarterback in the offseason, and his option has no trade limitations should the Browns be bowled over by an offer.

“It’s not gonna always be pretty or smooth, but I’m a fighter,” Mayfield, 26, said. “If anybody ever questions how much I want it, just turn on this tape. It wasn’t pretty, but I kept going, kept swinging; that’s who I am, and that’s what I will continue to be.”

In addition to the torn labrum, Mayfield was on the injury report with left foot soreness and a right knee contusion. He also has had to wear a harness on the left shoulder to prevent it from popping out of place.

–Field Level Media