Do the Cleveland Browns need a complete teardown?

To tear it all down, or not to tear it all down. That’s the question facing the Cleveland Browns — and more specifically, vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry — at the end of the 2024 season.

As things stand, the Browns are 2-7, with hopes of a return trip to the postseason essentially dead in the water. The bye week, which coincidentally coincided with the trade deadline, serves as a perfect time for reflection on the direction this team is headed.

As Berry beat around the bush on topics ranging from Deshaun Watson’s future to the trade deadline and upcoming roster makeup, he gave a pretty telling answer when asked whether or not he believes the Browns will have to turn back the clock to 2016 and have to start. rebuilding the list.

“I think one of the beauties of the NFL is that it’s not like baseball, it’s not like basketball, where sometimes you have to have half a decade long pivots or rebuilds,” Berry said. “I think you see it every year with teams, it’s just that the margins are so thin and honestly, with the way our sport works with acquiring players, it’s not like we’re drafting a 16-year-old kid who has to have eight to play.” I think in general you don’t necessarily see those pivot points in our sport.”

That certainly doesn’t sound like someone who is willing to give Myles Garrett the choice and start all over again. Berry actually made it pretty clear that trading Garrett at Tuesday’s deadline was never something on their minds.

Despite how this season has gone, players like Garrett are leading the way on a roster that is still ready to compete at a high level. According to Berry, teams in the NFL don’t need to blow up a roster like former General Manager Sashi Brown did in 2016 to get your team moving in the right direction. By identifying and making the right adjustments to a roster, even the worst team in the league can go from a pumpkin to the bubble of the ball.

Often that right move is landing the right quarterback, along the lines of the NFC East-leading Washington Commanders, who are the darlings of the NFL after hitting rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

The biggest difference here, of course, is that Washington’s situation is very different than the Browns’ currently. In fact, no team is really facing the kind of salary cap restrictions the Browns are likely to have this season, with Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract still hanging like a black cloud over the organization.

Watson is still owed more than $92 million for the next two seasons. However, his cap figure is based on money Berry put up in the form of a signing bonus and restructuring, but is much larger than that. We’re talking over $172 million in charges if Watson were just released.

Ultimately, there may be no other way out than him being on the roster but not attending – similar to his final year in Houston. Cleveland would then essentially spend the year with a 52-man roster instead of a 53-man roster. Or maybe he’s there, but he’s seen as a backup quarterback option.

Either way, the finances of that contracted albatross are undeniable and will make life very difficult for Berry. This also applies to other major contracts for older players. Even still, this doesn’t mean the Browns should add sticks of dynamite to their roster.

Maybe they’ll use their first first-round pick in three years to sign a young, cheap quarterback (a rookie QB is about the only one they can afford right now). That would certainly bring a new sense of hope for fans to hold on to. There are clear needs that need to be addressed on the offensive line as well. Another recipient probably has the highest priority.

It’s certainly not an ideal place to be. And if Berry is still in charge of that leadership here (that may be a big question at this point), his roster building, cap manipulation and talent evaluation will be tested like never before. However, if done correctly, there’s no reason to think the Browns can’t be back in the playoff conversation a year from now.