Report: Browns Make Final Call on GM Andrew Berry, HC Kevin Stefanski
What a difference a one-win season makes.
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is gearing up for the 2023 season after a 7-10 effort a year ago and two straight losing seasons. There were also questions about how general manager Andrew Berry mortgaged the franchise’s future by signing Deshaun Watson, who played in just six games in 2022 and then spent heavily on defense.
Watson didn’t improve much, playing six more games last year because of season-ending shoulder surgery. But the Browns finished the campaign with the top-rated defense in football, cruised with five starting quarterbacks, won 11 games and advanced to the AFC playoffs.
Stefanski won NFL Coach of the Year, and he and Berry are currently in line for extensions, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in Las Vegas on the eve of the Super Bowl. “I look forward to contract extensions for Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry this offseason,” Fowler wrote on Saturday, Feb. 10. “Both players have five-year contracts that expire after the 2024 season. They performed well enough to make the playoffs last year and all signs point to them being in Cleveland for the foreseeable future.
Browns QB Joe Flacco received future extensions for Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry.
Perhaps the biggest reason Cleveland was able to find late-season success and make the playoffs was quarterback Joe Flacco, who won NFL Player of the Year honors the same night Stefanski was honored.
According to Pro Football Reference, Flacco finished the year 4-1 as a rookie in the regular season with 1,616 passing yards, 13 TDs and 8 INTs. This comes after a rocky start for producer PJ Walker and newcomer Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who signed a $2.5 million contract.
Berry deserves some credit for signing Flacco to a good contract, and Stefanski deserves some credit for putting the quarterback and pushing his passing game and football talents. That said, unless they get a little luck and ride the Flacco wave to the top of the conference, the future for both won’t be so certain.
Deshaun Watson has criticized Brown’s decision-making over the past two years.
The real problem for the Browns through 2024 and the next two seasons will be Watson and his $230 million fully guaranteed contract. The deal raises the salary cap for next season to $64 million and will remain in effect for the duration of the contract.
Cleveland can invest about $33 million of that money in the future, which will eventually hit the Browns’ salary cap. The trade he made with the Houston Texans to acquire him, including the deal for Barry Watson and three first-round picks (2022, 2023, 2024), are the two biggest highlights of his tenure in Cleveland.
Because of his contract, Watson is set to start for the Browns next season regardless of how well Flacco interacts with fans and teammates, not to mention how well he plays. This appears to be Stefanski’s choice, but the franchise’s bold investment in Watson two years ago will undoubtedly influence any head coaching decision.
The 2024 campaign will be a watershed moment for Watson and, by extension, the organization’s entire leadership. He has to stay on the field and play well. The Browns need to be competitive in the AFC North and back in the playoffs. If that doesn’t happen, Berry and Stefanski need to admit their mistake to the fans and move on. And unless Berry and Stefanski make that deal and the changes that come with it (if necessary), the two leaders likely won’t be in Cleveland long, regardless of the extension they sign in the coming months.
