With the Cleveland Browns at 2-7 and having been sellers at the trade deadline, it's fair to assume the season is a wash. After starting a struggling quarterback all season until the team was forced to bench him with a season-ending injury while having an aging offensive line and horrendous cap management headed into 2025, the Browns are primed for an all-time bad season. Again.
GM Andrew Berry decided to meet with reporters during the Browns' bye week to address that bad season, but to the surprise of no one who follows the team, he really didn't answer any questions about the Browns' future. The future of Deshaun Watson still hands in the balance with some positive, but noncommittal, answers about his Achilles injury recovery, and the team's outlook beyond Watson still feels entirely dictated by his contract which is holding the team captive from making any free agent moves in 2025.
Notable quotes from the presser include Berry saying "Yeah, I think that's always possible" in reference to the possibility of Watson returning as the team's starting quarterback despite his major Achilles injury and another bad season with him under center. Another gem was Berry revealing that he was fully on board with continuing to start Watson despite him being the statistically worst quarterback in the NFL by the time he was injured.
Worst of all for fans to see was that Berry was not looking to answer questions on how bad the Watson trade has been for the team. The Browns haven't made the postseason with Watson under center, and have actually prospered with backup quarterbacks calling the shots for Cleveland's offense. That doesn't matter for Berry or the other members of the front office, though, who seem intent on making the trade look good for them and for the Browns. And, for Watson.
"I'm not in reflection mode" was Berry's response to a reporter's question about how bad the Watson trade has been and if it's worth acknowledging as such.
If you want to watch the entire availability, you can here. It's rough to see, though, if you're a fan of a team with so much talent defensively and clearly some players on offense worth getting a better quarterback for. Instead, fans are going to seemingly struggle through the second half of the season knowing that in 2025, the plan might very well be running it back with no cap space and with an even further hobbled Watson at QB1.
Berry says entire Browns team can do better
Berry didn't just address Watson's play - or lack thereof - in his presser. He also mentioned that the entire Browns roster has underperformed this season, and suggested a sort of trickle up effect to Watson that has led to a 2-7 start. Granted, the Browns offense has been one dimensional and hasn't held enough emphasis on its run game, and their secondary has been a weak link in its defense all season.
But, both of those issues can be traced back to how the roster is aging with how few picks the team's had since the Watson trade. This deadline helped them to recoup some of that draft depth - a third rounder from the Amari Cooper trade is the biggest get for them on that front. But, if the team is serious about contending with Watson under center, they'll look to draft high quality offensive line and wide receiving talent.
The bottom line: the Browns are averaging 16.4 points per game while the defense is only allowing 23.7 points per game. They rank 29th in rushing yards per game and 28th in passing yards per game, and are averaging just around one touchdown per game. They've also yet to have a receiver hit 100 yards in a game all season. Can this be turned around this season? Probably not. But without getting real about their quarterback situation, the Browns are destined for a similarly disappointing result in 2025 and beyond.
