Whic Browns Roles Are Most Likely Too Change in 2024
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson comes off the field after practice during the NFL football team's football training camp in Berea on Aug. 4, 2022. Watson File Photo 5
As we inch closer to the NFL season, general managers will now start to have the more difficult decisions. It’s easy to line up your draft board and sign the big-name free agents, but it’s another to make the chess-like moves and fine-tune your roster closer to the season.
With the salary cap in place and the structure of the draft, the hard work is all the little decisions to fine-tune contracts and the roster before the season. Getting rid of a star player a year early vs. a year late and drafting the right guy in the fifth round that can start right away can make or break the season.
Andrew Berry has doubled down this season with a lot of additions, but now there will be plenty of tough ones to be made. With major contracts already given to Deshaun Watson, Denzel Ward, Myles Garrett, and now Jerry Jeudy, there is only so much money to go around.
Knowing that the potential to be on the hot seat is there, what moves may Berry make before this season even starts?
Changes to Protect Watson
One of the biggest questions for me heading into the 2024 season is the offensive line. On paper, they have five, solid NFL starters, but between injuries and underperformance, they have struggled to keep the quarterback clean.
I know that Watson has struggled, and I don’t put all of that on the offensive line, but I think it’s a major piece of it. The two biggest holes (with contracts that could be moved) are at guard with Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.
Both are fantastic run-blockers, but both have had their struggles in pass protection. Both are great players in the right offense, but with the change to Kevin Dorsey (offensive coordinator) and the pass-heavy scheme, they just don’t fit the puzzle anymore.
Bitonio is such a fan favorite I don’t see a scenario where they move on. It may be the right business move to change things up, but I don’t see it happening. Teller on the other hand, I think could easily be moved before the start of the season.
The team will save some money on the cap by releasing him, but I do think they could at least get the compensatory pick value (if he left) in a trade. Fans will be sad if this happens, but at the end of the day, I think this team would be better off without him.
A New Face in the Backfield
One of the saddest eras in Cleveland that could be coming to an end sooner than later is the Nick Chubb era. The guy has been the workhorse of the organization for the three prior seasons, but I’m not sure how much longer the workload will continue.
Chubb suffered a serious knee injury last season that required multiple surgeries and certainly leaves question marks on if he will ever be the same. Berry did the right thing by re-signing him to an incentive-based contract for next season.
That contract will guarantee he’s on the roster next season, but doesn’t promise him to be on the field. Berry beefed up the roster with D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines as a backup plan, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them beef up the practice squad as well.
At this point, we have seen videos of him running full speed, but we all know there is far more movement in the game of football than running in a straight line. I’m as hopeful as anyone that we will see the same Nick Chubb by the end of next season, but it will certainly be an uphill battle.
The rumors are still swirling that he will be ready by the start of the season, but at this point, that seems like a stretch. The history on that injury and surgery have historically been 12 full months.
But if anyone can defy science it may be Chubb who has shown he is wiling to put in the work to continue to push his body.
Last season was fun and this organization certainly over-achieved by making the playoffs. But the bottom line is, that Berry traded six total picks for Watson to try and get this team to a Super Bowl-caliber level.
I’m not saying that Berry is truly on the hot seat and at risk of being fired, but this organization is one 6-11 season away from having fans in a full spiral meltdown.
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