Cleveland Browns: There is no reason to deep dive into Andrew Berry’s comments

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry was asked several questions at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he gave no answers to deep dive into.

Andrew Berry is attending his first NFL Scouting Combine as the Cleveland Browns general manager, and there are several questions about the roster people wanted answered at the Combine. With a new regime in place, the expectation is there will be some wheeling and dealing with the roster.

However, when Berry met with the media in Indianapolis on Tuesday, he did not provide those answers. In typical fashion of an NFL front office during this part of the offseason, Berry provided generic answers so no one could get a feel for what the Browns have planned this offseason.

Whether it be their approach in free agency or in the draft, Berry does not want to give any hints about players who could be in Cleveland’s offseason plans. There may be a lot of assumptions about what the Browns may do this offseason, but Berry was not going to confirm nor deny those assumptions.

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One of the biggest beliefs about the new Browns front office currently is that they are a team who has a high potential of trading down during the 2020 NFL Draft. After John Dorsey traded several draft picks to acquire talent, the new Browns front office may prefer to trade down and recoup some extra draft picks.

Much like any general manager would, Berry said he would be flexible when it comes to potentially trading the 10th overall selection. Berry explained there is the possibility that Cleveland trades up in the draft, not just trading down. Although it is hard to imagine the Browns moving up from No. 10, Berry is clearly attempting to keep his options open.

Berry also raised some eyebrows when he said that he learned from the Philadelphia Eagles that he should always answer the phone when a team is offering a trade. He may decide to not make a trade, but he believes it is at least worth listening to what a team has to offer.

Berry’s comments about listening to any trade offer came in response to a question about Odell Beckham‘s future in Cleveland. This led to some association that Berry may consider a trade involving Beckham.

However, Berry made it clear that Beckham’s is in the team’s plans and that he has already met with Kevin Stefanski about plans for Beckham. Beckham may have struggled in his first season with the Browns, but that does not mean the new front office will quickly trade him after taking charge.

Just because Berry discussed listening to any trade offers about a player was in response to a Beckham question, it does not mean the team has Beckham on the trade block. In fact, it does not mean that Berry is actively seeking a trade for any player currently on the roster. It was a generic answer that was designed to not specifically give away any of the team’s plans.

Berry is an intelligent person and knows how to answer questions to not give anything away. Whether it be about Olivier Vernon‘s future, Beckham’s future, or how the team will approach the draft, Berry gave nothing of substance to dig into.

Smart NFL executives know what they need to do with the media in order to keep their plans close to the vest. He may be a rookie general manager, but Berry knows that people will try to find meaning in any of his answers, and he did well in not providing anything that will potentially hurt Cleveland’s offseason plans.