INDIANAPOLIS -- Browns General Manager Andrew Berry said when he was introduced last month he was going to be aggressive. What, exactly, it meant was anyone’s guess.
The Browns just moved on from as aggressive a GM as they’ve had recently. John Dorsey made an immediate mark by trading for and extending wide receiver Jarvis Landry and acquiring quarterback Tyrod Taylor as soon as the calendar turned to his first new league year with the Browns. He spent money and made trades, culminating in the megadeal for Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon last year, a few weeks after he stood at the combine podium and said, “Well, (Giants GM) Dave (Gettleman), here’s my cell phone over here.”
Berry wasn’t quite as emphatic when asked about trades, but he did mention his phone when he was asked about Odell Beckham Jr. and if he would take calls on the star wide receiver.
“I won't discuss any specific player in terms of trade opportunities, trade calls, anything like that. I did work under probably the strongest wheeler-dealer in the league under (Eagles GM) Howie Roseman,” Berry said, “and it’s something that you always pick up the phone and you listen to anything across the table.”
Berry used the word aggressive, but the more appropriate word is another he used when Dorsey’s flurry of actions was brought up:
“When I think about aggressive, it doesn't mean specializing in one area,” he said. “it means being opportunistic across all different areas of player acquisition.”
There’s the word: opportunistic.
Berry laid out more clearly what he means when he says he’s going to be aggressive when he spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, and it doesn’t mean to expect the Browns to hand out truckloads of cash on March 18.
“If we do identify players that fill a need, fit the offensive or defensive profile on the field and fit the off-field profile, we’re not going to be afraid to strike,” he said.
And using free agency and the trade market go hand-in-hand in team building.
“To limit ourselves to just free agency or just trades,” Berry said, “that would be foolish from our perspective.”
The other area -- and one unfamiliar to Browns fans: keeping homegrown talent. Berry wants to get deals done before core players hit the market and risk losing them. The Browns still have a few weeks to try and get something done with Joe Schobert and Rashard Higgins if they’re able and willing, but there are other examples down the road to watch.
Myles Garrett is eligible for an extension now. It would behoove the Browns to lock him up before the market for edge rushers resets again.
Denzel Ward, Nick Chubb and Baker Mayfield are key players who become extension-eligible after 2020. Larry Ogunjobi is free-agency bound after this season. If he is viewed as a core player, could he be in line for a payday before hitting the market next year?
So when Berry says he’s going to be aggressive, it could look different year-to-year, based on need, who’s available, what it will take to acquire them and who on the roster needs paid.
“We’re not going to be bound to any one area,” Berry said, “but we’re going explore all areas.”
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