INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Andrew Berry will do a lot more than scout college prospects at his first NFL combine as Browns GM this week.
He has plenty of team business to tend to, and the groundwork for a lot of his decisions over the next few months will be laid here. Berry vowed to be defined by aggression and likely has big plans for upgrading the Browns’ talent over the next few months.
Some players who had fallen out of favor with the previous regime are back in good graces, and other players who thought they were fine might not be on solid ground.
Berry, who will take the podium on Tuesday afternoon, will meet with the agents of some of the current Browns players here including Joe Schobert, and also do his due diligence on the 2020 free-agent class.
Here are some of the key decisions he’ll address here with the new league year around the bend on March 18, and the legal tampering period opening March 16:
1. Linebacker Joe Schobert
Schobert, a pending unrestricted free agent, would have been out the door if the previous regime had remained, but now has a chance to stay. The Browns and Schobert were so far apart on the money last year that talks broke down and former GM John Dorsey was prepared to let him walk.
But Berry was in his first season as Browns Vice President of Player Personnel when Schobert was drafted in the fourth round in 2016 and played a role in his selection. He’s been in contact with Schobert’s agent, and will meet with him here at the combine, a league source tells cleveland.com.
Schobert, who figures to be in demand if he hits the open market, still hopes to make double-digit millions, so the Browns will have to ante up if they hope to keep him. He wants to stay with the Browns, but unless they make him an offer he can’t refuse, he’ll test the market and could be snatched up quickly.
2. Tight end David Njoku
If Freddie Kitchens had stayed as head coach, Njoku would’ve been gone. Kitchens made him a healthy scratch in two of the last four games of the season because he didn’t like him as a player.
But Njoku has had new life breathed into him with the arrival of Berry and Kevin Stefanski, and now the Browns are for more likely to pick up his fifth-year option by the May 3 deadline.
With Stefanski playing more “12” personnel (one running back and two tight ends), Njoku’s value has increased since the end of the season. Berry was part of the regime that traded up to draft him with the No. 29 pick in the first round of the 2017, and has a higher opinion of him than Dorsey did.
Njoku, coming back from a surgically repaired arm, has been working hard this offseason to improve, and is excited about the new offense, a source said.
Browns defensive end Olivier Vernon sacks Broncos quarterback Brandon Allen during the October game in Denver.cleveland.com
3. Defensive end Olivier Vernon
Vernon, 29, is due to make $15.25 million in the second year of his contract with the Browns, but none of it is guaranteed, and they’ll be out nothing if they release him. Dorsey acquired Vernon in a trade with the Giants for Kevin Zeitler, and he missed most of the second half of the season with a knee injury. For the $15.25 million the Browns paid him last year, he managed 3.5 sacks in 10 games. The Browns have been in contact with the Vernon’s camp, and will continue to communicate. If he stays, Vernon, the highest-paid player on the team, will have to accept a pay cut.
4. Rashard Higgins
Berry will meet at the combine with the agent for Higgins, who was in Kitchens’ doghouse as much as anyone last year. He barely sniffed the field after a miscommunication in the fourth quarter of the Seahawks game when he declined to go in for a play. By the end of the season, he was inactive because of a coach’ decision, and seemed destined to walk in free agency. But Berry helped draft Higgins in the fourth round of the 2014 draft and will at least consider re-signing him. He was a favorite of Baker Mayfield’s before he fell out of favor with Kitchens last year.
5. Safety Damarious Randall
Randall, another pending unrestricted free agent, landed in Kitchens’ doghouse last year, and also would’ve been gone if Kitchens had stayed. But the new regime is at least willing to have a conversation with Randall’s agent, possibly at the combine. Randall will probably end up elsewhere, but it’s not as cut-and-dried as it was when Kitchens left him home from the Pittsburgh game because of an incident that occurred during practice.
6. Defensive end Myles Garrett
The Browns will pick up Garrett’s fifth-year option by May 3 unless they agree to an extension before then. They can negotiate the extension anytime after his third season, and are likely already exploring it now that he’s been reinstated from his indefinite suspension. Again, Berry was part of drafting Garrett, and undoubtedly considers him a cornerstone of the defense for years to come.
Linebacker Christian Kirksey stretches with teammates before a preseason game against Detroit last August.cleveland.com
7. Linebacker Christian Kirksey
The Browns must decide the fate of Kirksey, who missed all but the first two games of last season with a torn pectoral muscle. Heading into his seventh season, Kirksey is due to make $7.75 million in 2020 and wants to stay to see this through. But he’s played in only nine games the past two seasons, and the Browns will decide soon whether he stays or goes.
8. Receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
With Beckham saying last season that he didn’t know what the future held, Berry will probably receive trade inquires about the three-time Pro Bowl receiver, who’s coming off core muscle surgery in January. There was one report by si.com that he’d welcome a trade to the Jets, but I don’t see that happening. The Browns seem committed to keeping Beckham and helping him reach his potential. But when it comes to trades, never say never, especially with a new sheriff in town.
9. OLs Jack Conklin, Bryan Bulaga, Joe Thuney and Brandon Scherff
Berry can’t legally tamper with other teams’ free agents until March 16, but the Browns will likely break the bank this offseason to upgrade their offensive line, and there are good prospects about to hit the market. Tennessee’s Conklin and Green Bay’s Bulaga are right tackles, and New England’s Thuney and Washington’s Scherff are guards. All are on the radar to some extent, as are most of the good linemen available. If the Browns land a right tackle, they’ll likely draft their left tackle at No. 10 overall, and there are several good ones available.
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2020-02-25 06:16:00Z
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