General manager Andrew Berry knows that this offseason is a potentially make or break one for his future with the Cleveland Browns.
After his big swing trade for Deshaun Watson has officially crashed and burned, he needs to seek out the team's next franchise signal caller in a year where that is essentially impossible to do. The NFL draft doesn't offer too many sure fire options for starting quarterbacks, and the Browns simply don't have the cap space to make a run at any great free agents this offseason.
Berry spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the NFL combine, beginning this Thursday, to answer questions about Cleveland's now-tumultuous offseason.
3 takeaways from Andrew Berry's press conference
Berry still isn't honoring Myles Garrett's trade request
Berry addressed the biggest elephant in the room regarding the Browns' offseason, Myles Garrett, at the very start to his media availability. He made it clear that he's still not interested in trading Garrett at all, finding him to be one of the biggest pieces to the team. He also mentioned that he hadn't even been entertaining calls from other teams regarding a trade for Garrett.
No return date for Deshaun Watson set after second Achilles tear
Berry told reporters that Watson's second Achilles injury was an accident, bucking against "nefarious" claims that he had re-injured his surgically repaired Achilles doing non-football activities. Regardless, it has become clear that Watson is going to miss some significant time in 2025, but Berry couldn't commit to a real timetable for him when asked about it by ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi.
Cleveland's very early in the draft & college player evaluation process
"The trade market at the top of the draft has yet to really reveal itself."
This was probably the most revealing thing that Berry said during his pretty veiled press conference. Something important to note: there have been rumblings that Cleveland and the Tennessee Titans might be interested in trading down from their prime first and second picks in the draft. But, with this comment from Berry, it sounds like that might not even be the case just yet.
If it does become the case, though, Berry didn't sound against the idea of trading the pick.
Browns GM Andrew Berry on if he would be willing to trade the No. 2 pick for the right offer:
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) February 25, 2025
“I’m open to anything that would help us improve the team but none of those decisions have been made.”
Read more: Mel Kiper has Browns avoiding Shedeur Sanders in latest 2025 NFL mock draft
Players like Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, and Abdul Carter were brought up to Berry during his press conference, and of course, he had nothing but flowers to give all three of them given their talent and rankings atop their respective position groups. With Hunter, he specifically lauded his ball skills, and with Carter, he spoke to his "rare" athletic talent.
Given that Berry seems set in his decision to not trade Garrett, Carter might not be on the Browns' radar at No. 2 overall as some sort of replacement for Garrett this offseason. But, Hunter, Sanders, and Cam Ward all seem like legitimate players to keep an eye on as the Browns don't sound ready to trade out of their pick and are likely seeking to add some sort of boost to their offense.