When it comes to the NFL trade market, Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry is usually in the mix. In recent years, with the Browns tumbling toward the bottom of the standings, he’s sold off veteran pieces like Joe Flacco, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Amari Cooper, and Za’Darius Smith for extra draft capital.
Here in 2026, he took a much more cautious approach that Browns fans will be grappling with over the next few days.
With the Browns above .500 entering trade-deadline week and firmly in the AFC playoff hunt, Berry made the understandable decision not to sell this season.
He also chose not to buy, and that inaction sends an uncomfortable message about how team leadership views this 2026 season.
As promised following the Myles Garrett trade on June 1, the Browns aren’t tanking, but they’re also not interested in dipping into their war chest of draft picks — they currently hold 11 total selections in the 2027 NFL Draft alone — to improve this year’s roster.
Andrew Berry made it clear the Browns won't sacrifice 2027 for a 2026 playoff push
Their focus is on 2027 and beyond. It’s a consistent and understandable game plan that’s also a tough sell to a fan base that’s been buying into the potential of this year’s young team.
The Browns, at 5-4, are about to enter the most pivotal stretch of their schedule — four consecutive home games against the Texans, Raiders, Bengals and Falcons, sandwiched around a Week 11 bye. In that sense, this year’s Nov. 10 trade deadline arrived at the perfect time.
Cleveland has glaring needs across the roster, but especially at tight end, defensive end, and defensive tackle:
- Harold Fannin has essentially been a one-man band at the tight end position, with veteran Blake Whiteheart the only NFL-caliber player behind him on the depth chart.
- The edge-rusher group was thinned during training camp by Alex Wright’s Achilles injury and has gotten next to no production from Jared Verse, their prized young addition from the Garrett trade.
- The defensive tackle room is strong, but Mason Graham, Maliek Collins, and Mike Hall Jr. have already missed a combined six games due to injuries.
Browns are betting patience now will create a much bigger opportunity in 2027
The decision to stand pat certainly limits the ceiling of this year’s Browns team, which has been gritty but frustratingly inconsistent. Even a move along the margins — like for Eagles edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie? — would have put the team in a better position to make a playoff push over the next two months.
Instead, that aggression is likely coming during the 2027 offseason, when the Browns appear poised to break free from Deshaun Watson’s albatross contract, spend big in free agency, and carry two first-round picks into that April’s draft.
It’s probably the right approach, as even a Jeffery Simmons-sized move at the deadline this year was unlikely to make the Browns a true AFC contender against teams like the Jaguars and Bills.
But no moves at all? That’s a tough reality to swallow for Browns fans as they look forward to watching late-season games from the edge of their seats for the first time in a while.
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