BEREA, Ohio — Step right up and make your best offer. Browns general manager Andrew Berry just shipped out two veterans only five weeks into the season, apparently unfazed by the fact that Cleveland could pull within 1.5 games of the division lead if it wins at Pittsburgh.
And the trade deadline is still about four weeks away.
Hear that, opposing GMs? The Browns are open for business. Browns quarterback (and team captain) Joe Flacco was shipped for a late-round pick swap. tcorner Then Cleveland traded cornerback Greg Newsome II, off to the best start of his career, for Jacksonville cornerback Tyson Campbell — whom the Jaguars deemed expendable midway through a four-year, $76.5 million extension — and (wait for it) another late-round pick swap.
The prices are reasonable. And the time is now to buy, buy, buy from Berry’s roster.
Is there another way to interpret this week’s moves besides “fire sale kick off?” If so, send a note to coach Kevin Stefanski, whose job just got a lot tougher.
It’s hard enough to win with a rookie-laden roster, as Stefanski’s 1-4 record indicates. Heck, the coach/play-caller’s offense is still trying to solve the 20-point puzzle for the first time this season (and the first time in 10 games dating back to 2024).
Now, on top of everything else, he must convince a locker room full of perceptive players that his partner didn’t just wave the white flag on this season.
Any suggestions? Ideas? Bueller?
The buzzword explanation floating through Berea is “business decision.” Football is a sport. Roster management is a business. This stock market is unpredictable.
“Anytime you trade guys in this league, you realize the business of it,” Browns left guard Joel Bitonio said Thursday.
But somebody must stimulate the economy. “Business” didn’t trade Flacco to a division rival who, by the way, thinks he’s good enough to save their season. Berry did. The wild transaction wire didn’t punt on Newsome, whom Cleveland was open to extending, at a position where the Browns were already thin. Berry did.
He chose to void Cleveland’s quarterback room of veteran expertise (and float the Bengals a life preserver). He chose to swap a respected veteran corner for a player who — even if he fits Cleveland’s scheme and offers financial flexibility — has three days to learn defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s defense (Schwartz told reporters Thursday he watched Campbell’s film after the trade). And by association, Berry planted a fair question inside players’ heads.
Are we still trying to win?
Depends on who you ask — or what you mean by “win.” From Stefanski’s perspective, the definition is simple. Every coach is judged by his record, regardless of the $238 million anchor attached to their franchise. Ten NFL coaches lost at least 10 games in consecutive seasons over the last two years. Nine got fired.
Stefanski needs results.
Berry’s rubric? Less exact, but you know a victory when you see it. And while he shares Stefanski’s shame for the Watson fiasco, Berry earned a few bounce-back wins in this year’s draft.
First-round pick Mason Graham ranks ninth among all defensive tackles in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger leads the Browns in tackles. Second-round running back Quinshon Judkins ranks ninth among all NFL players in rushing yards (347) despite playing one fewer game than many of the players behind him.
For so long, Berry and Stefanski have shared everything from visions to resumes to robotic press conference mannerisms. But this week felt like the first moment where interests diverged.
The more Berry sells, sells, sells, the harder it is for Stefanski to win, win, win, which only tests, tests, tests ownership’s patience.
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