Berry, Stefanski face key Browns offseason questions
The NFL world is heading to Indianapolis this week for the league's Scouting Combine. That includes a large contingent of decision makers from the Browns.
That group, headed up by general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski, will be there first and foremost to get a look at a whole lot of potential players who may ended up as Browns draft picks or undrafted free agents this spring. However, they'll no doubt get some of the foundation laid for various moves to emerge in a couple of weeks when teams can actually start legally agreeing to free agent deals and trades.
Both Berry and Stefanski are scheduled to talk this week to the media. Berry was to speak at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, while Stefanski will talk at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.
No one is expecting either to reveal the plan for the player procurement period. However, here are a few topics that could come up during the course of their time speaking in Indianapolis.
Potential salary cap restructures with Deshaun Watson, Nick Chubb, others?
The Browns received great news Friday when the NFL announced a record $30 million spike in the salary cap for next season, which will be at $255.4 million. They still stand a shade under $7 million over the cap, according to OverTheCap.com.
That number, though, is a few relatively easy moves away from turning into a hefty surplus. It's something Berry has done a masterful job of doing over his first four years as general manager due to the way the Browns have structured many of the deals they've done.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson and running back Nick Chubb are the two players who have been front and center when the spotlight has shined down on potential contracts to be reworked. Defensive end Myles Garrett and cornerback Denzel Ward are two others who could be asked to move some money around to free up some more space.
Chubb's name has been tossed about as a potential cap casualty due to the lack of guaranteed money and the relatively low cap hit that it would cost the team. Berry spoke eloquently about the injured running back in a January press conference, so the question is whether or not he'll maintain that strong public stance this time.
Deshaun Watson's timeline back to full availability
This remains the question of the offseason. It will remain the question until Watson's out there regularly throwing the ball after having surgery last November for a broken glenoid in his throwing shoulder.
It's been reported that
Watson should begin throwing in March. The Browns won't start the on-field portion of the offseason program until May, but he'll no doubt want to do his own private workouts with various teammates as he's done in previous years as soon as possible.
Just how soon really is soon? Or how soon is too soon?
The hope is that Berry and/or Stefanski will be able to provide a much more definitive answer in Indianapolis.
New offensive coaching staff's adjustment period
If you've been living under a rock for the last month or so, the Browns have done some reworking to the coaching staff. The offensive staff, in particular, is almost entirely new after a series a moves created both by decisions made in-house and one massive decision outside of the organization.
The Browns' offensive staff now includes new faces at offensive coordinator (Ken Dorsey), running backs coach (Duce Staley), tight ends coach (Tommy Rees) and offensive line coach (Andy Dickerson). They also added a new defensive line coach (Jacques Cesaire).
Stefanski spoken briefly at Dorsey's introductory press conference earlier this month. However, the staff was still in flux at that time, with Dickerson's hire having not been completed.
The biggest questions remain about the play calling, which no one expects Stefanski to answer this week. For now, it'll be curious to hear what he has to say about the addition of several new faces and fresh ideas and how it's meshed so far.