{"id":15439,"date":"2025-02-26T11:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15439"},"modified":"2025-02-26T11:22:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:22:00","slug":"browns-return-to-qb-desert-puts-andrew-berry-in-nfls-most-uncomfortable-position-jimmy-watkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15439","title":{"rendered":"Browns’ return to QB desert puts Andrew Berry in NFL\u2019s most uncomfortable position \u2014 Jimmy Watkins"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Browns<\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Andrew Berry needs a quarterback like the rest of us need water. Can\u2019t function without it, can only survive so long between sips.<\/p>\n

Entering this week\u2019s NFL Scouting combine, the Browns are three years into their latest drought. Sixty-five games have passed since the last time a Cleveland passer (2021 Baker Mayfield) logged three straight games with a passer rating <\/b>better than 90. Low bar to clear, even lower bottom to touch.<\/p>\n

Luckily, Berry remembers a mantra for moments like this. He recites it when asked for career advice, and he believes it fits Cleveland\u2019s current moment.<\/p>\n

The credo?<\/p>\n

\u201cGet comfortable with being uncomfortable,\u201d Berry told reporters Tuesday. \u201cThere are things that are going to make you uncomfortable every off season, especially when you\u2019re in, in essence, a risk-taking position, a decision-making position. And that\u2019s the reality of the beast. So at this point in my career, (not having a quarterback) is not something that really gives me anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glad he feels that way, because Berry\u2019s Browns begin this offseason in the most uncomfortable position possible. Cleveland counts one healthy player \u2014 former fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson \u2014 at the league\u2019s most important position. He\u2019s never thrown for more than 170 yards.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re paying former starter Deshaun Watson $46 million ($72.9 million against the salary cap) to recover from a second torn Achilles injury in four months. And they own the second overall pick in a draft class considered lighter than usual on passing prospects.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s Shedeur Sanders? Miami\u2019s Cam Ward? Alabama\u2019s Jalen Milroe?<\/p>\n

Can any young quarterback save the stranded Browns?<\/p>\n

Star edge rusher Myles Garrett said \u201cI don\u2019t think so\u201d when he requested a trade from Cleveland three weeks ago. The 30-year-old lacks patience and, apparently, trust in his front office as he ages. Considering the airtime Garrett spent broadcasting his displeasure during Super Bowl week, I\u2019d say he shares Berry\u2019s appetite for unease.<\/p>\n

But the general manager reiterated Monday that Cleveland will not entertain Garrett trade offers. He \u201ccan\u2019t imagine\u201d doing so, actually. Berry\u2019s daydreams look more like Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who led Washington to the NFC title game one season after it drafted him second overall.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t call it impossible. Washington general manager Adam Peters is living proof. This time last year, Peter crawled through a similar quarterback desert. Twelve years had passed since a Commanders quarterback made the Pro Bowl. His team had won four games one season prior.<\/p>\n

Now? \u201cIt feels a lot better than last year,\u201d Peters said Tuesday. Paired with a shrew batch of free agent signings, Daniels changed the franchise. Everything is possible just one year after hope seemed lost. And in moments like this, Peters remembers his own sharp saying.<\/p>\n

When it comes to NFL quarterbacks, \u201cI think you have one or you\u2019re looking for one,\u201d he said Tuesday. \u201cI think that\u2019s pretty established.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wherever Berry hangs his \u201ccomfortability\u201d truism at the office, he should frame Peters\u2019 quote next to it. And while we\u2019re at it, let\u2019s post sticky notes on the monitor with quarterback names written on them. Call them affirmations, then call them into the building.<\/p>\n

Ole Miss\u2019s Jaxson Dart? Louisville\u2019s Tyler Shough? Texas\u2019s Quinn Ewers? Interview them all.<\/p>\n

Ohio State\u2019s Will Howard? Syracuse\u2019s Kyle McCord? Oregon\u2019s Dillon Gabriel? Watch every throw.<\/p>\n

Leave no grain of sand unsearched in this crawl through the quarterback desert, even if you don\u2019t draft one. Because if \u2014 Garrett-sized if \u2014 Cleveland finds a franchise quarterback in the first round, all its other problems become solvable.<\/p>\n

Cap restrictions? Meet rookie contract. Disgruntled veterans? Enjoy this burst of energy. Every team will tell you they study quarterbacks every year. But listen to how happy Chargers general manager (and Justin Herbert enjoyer) Joe Hortiz sounds knowing he doesn\u2019t need to draft one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome. It\u2019s awesome. It\u2019s awesome,\u201d Hortiz said. \u201cI\u2019ve been afforded that opportunity many years over my career. But there\u2019s been some years where we didn\u2019t have (a quarterback) and it\u2019s a little stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A little? Hortiz must\u2019ve forgotten. Since 2000, 74 different quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round. Only 31 have made a Pro Bowl playing for the team that drafted them, and only 18 made multiple.<\/p>\n

Among top five picks, 22 of 36 quarterbacks made a Pro Bowl with the team who drafted them. Much better, but only 11 of those 22 made multiple Pro Bowls.<\/p>\n

Doing the math? Drafting a quarterback from Cleveland\u2019s position gives you a 30.6% chance of finding a player who delivers return on investment. The Browns are dying of thirst, and if they\u2019re looking for water this week in Indianapolis, they\u2019ll need a winning lottery ticket.<\/p>\n

All Cleveland needs is a quarterback? Could be true. But finding one sounds harder \u2014 sorry, more uncomfortable \u2014 than Browns fans want it to be.<\/p>\n

And by the way: Finding one is just the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard because quarterback is the most impactful position, but it\u2019s also one of the most interconnected positions in the sport,\u201d Berry said. \u201cYou talk about decision making. It\u2019s a position where you\u2019re going to make 50 to 60 decisions a game and probably have a ball in your hand for 45 or 40, but at the same time all 10 people around you have to be able to do their jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I would say this: (It is) 10 people on the field, but it\u2019s also the people on the sideline in terms of how you\u2019re building the offense and the scheme around the individual. So there\u2019s just are a number of, I don\u2019t want to use the word complicating factors, but maybe interdependent factors that go into it. So the evaluation process is important, but so is the integration and developmental process as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart. Cleveland begins draft season looking for somebody, anybody, to reset the franchise at football’s most important position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\nBrowns' return to QB desert puts Andrew Berry in NFL\u2019s most uncomfortable position \u2014 Jimmy Watkins - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15439\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Browns' return to QB desert puts Andrew Berry in NFL\u2019s most uncomfortable position \u2014 Jimmy Watkins - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart. 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