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Agreed it’s good news at least for the short term. Even if we have to play DW again next season based on the last few years he probably will get injured again. Since it’s a good chance that will happen we better have a good 2nd and 3rd option at QB. I’m certainly not hoping he does get hurt just stating the reality of the situation.

Any chance we can trade for Baker?

I’d give TB three first round picks for Bake. I’d even throw in a couple second round picks just to sweeten the pot, get the owner to send a plane.

If I am understanding this restructuring correctly, the Browns changed Watson's void year into a real year without adding salary. This gives cap relief in 2025. They can wave him after June 1, 2026, allowing the Browns to cut the dead money to 30+ million. Where is the cap hell?

Really Browns would be not too bright in keeping Watson. He is too injury prone coupled with off the field problems on going but not nowhere near as mentioned as they used to be.

Andrew Berry walking up to a salary cap like...

There is none.

Berry does know cap. That's why we have to keep him. QBs are another matter. That's why he needs to get some outside input whether he does it on his own or someone STRONGLY suggests he does.

Berry isn't the only one who knows cap.
We don't even know that he is the main cap manager for the team
We could have some capologist working it behind the scenes

Could it be that the powers that be still believe in Watson? I mean, like HOW?

It could be that the Browns know they screwed up trading for Watson, and they are making the best of a bad situation. At this point that is exactly what has happened.

Berry's salary cap skills pale in comparisons to Jimmy's pocket book depth. Berry is a smart guy, but he has NOT discovered something in the salary cap that other teams have missed/overlooked. He DOES have a seemingly bottomless pit of Jimmy's $$$ to spend tho.

When I think of successful GMs, I think of player acquisitions and growth and roster-construct...I don't think of that stuff when I think of Berry the GM...not in a favorable way anyway.

Not really. Some of us would but this FO and owner won't.

j/c...

I wonder if this coincides with when Vrabel was first spotted on the sidelines with a headset during the Saints game.

Other staff changes are possible. Mike Vrabel -- who joined the Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant after he was fired by the Titans this past offseason -- effectively became the offensive line coach, leaving a void in the likely event he lands elsewhere in this cycle

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-coachi...gs-with-two-weeks-left-in-regular-season

I'm not sure what saying he "effectively became the offensive line coach" actually means. That doesn't seem to indicate any official change.

He probably isn't the main cap manager. I am not saying that would be a full time job but for a good portion of the year it might be.

There are probably several different avenues the team could take. Those are presented and top management decides which one to follow.

I agree. However with Berry I see a chance he isn't over player selection anymore. I guess it depends on what is written in to the contract. Berry is a sharp guy, maybe just not at player selection. Maybe make him team President or just tell him that player selection isn't in the job description anymore and hire someone else to do that.

I was REALLY hoping that the contract update was to give them a non-rebuild path to Watson getting off the roster.

Because of the enormity of the commitment we made, getting Watson off the roster was always going to be a multi-year ordeal. Denver getting Wilson off their roster looks like returning house-brand hand tool to Lowe's or Home Depot compared to what we have to do to get Watson off the books.

I like that we are trying to chart a middle course that speeds up the process, but also allows us an attempt at putting a competitive team on the field next year (especially in light of Garrett's comments).

j/c...

Vrabel is heading to the Patriots as soon as Mayo gets canned (imo).

A snippet from The Athletic...

Mike Vrabel permitted to leave Browns, start head-coaching interviews: Source

By Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini 11m ago

The Cleveland Browns are permitting Mike Vrabel to leave the team before the end of the regular season, according to a league source. The move allows him to interview for head coach openings immediately.

Vrabel spent the 2024 season as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Browns, taking the job after he didn’t land a head-coaching gig last offseason. He was fired by the Tennessee Titans in January.

........

Vrabel is expected to prioritize openings with a positive ownership situation and teams with either a quality quarterback in place or a path to getting one in the near future.

With the Browns, Vrabel assisted general manager Andrew Berry in scouting prospects leading up the 2024 NFL Draft, then became a part of Cleveland’s player development coaching program under head coach Kevin Stefanski. He also worked with the team’s tight ends and offensive linemen.

As long as Vrabel wasn't assisting Berry with scouting QB's. If you look at the QB selections the Titans made during his past two seasons there it could go from "worse to worser."

It's the right thing to do for him.

And probably part of the agreement from the first handshake.

I've seen somewhat different reports than what was posted here that indicates you might be correct.......

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Vrabel's consulting agreement with the Browns expired on Monday. Cleveland and Vrabel likely agreed to this timing so that he could get a head start on interviewing in the 2025 coaching cycle. Vrabel joined the Browns officially in March after the Titans fired him in January.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profo...-agreement-with-browns-expired-on-monday

It does leave the door open as to whether this refers to something just settled in the past couple of days or if this was the timetable of the original agreement. There are a lot if reports that word it this way.

Yeah, I think it's mostly common sense. It was a nameless role and obviously a good coach that offered a transitory service for a chance to analyze the landscape before he made any rash decisions. He was probably grateful for a chance to breathe for a year before jumping back into the fire as well. We were grateful to see a smart mind that could fill some holes.

Seemed like a win-win at the time, I haven't seen anything to say it wasn't.

From a Facebook post...

Watch this entire sequence because it perfectly highlights how inept and pathetic this #Browns offense has been all season.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson tries to throw a screen pass to Pierre Strong (on a play that was wide open with space to run)...except Strong ran to the wrong side of the field.

No one knew what they were doing from the start. Jamari Thrash doesn't know where to line up, Michael Woods is waving his arms and Strong isn't even on the correct side of the formation.

My favorite part is when the linemen blocking for the screen turn around like, "Uh, where's the running back?"

This entire season has been a joke. This team is a joke. Ken Dorsey is a joke. And this entire play--from confusion to penalty--sums up the incompetence we've had to endure watching all season.


https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1TNUVmZFKR/

I don't really see it either way. I don't see where any holes were filled as you suggest. While Vrabel has a great defensive mind the defense regressed. Looking at the QB's he drafted in his last two seasons with the Titans he's certainly not suited to help with that job. So I'm not quite sure what he did to help things. I also can't say if he did anything to make things worse.

This is what you don't understand: The Browns owe the books right now 172M of Watson's original 230M. The Browns have only accounted for 24.9% of Watson's guaranteed contract on the books the first 3-years. No matter how or where Berry moves the money (deferred bonuses in void years) the Browns will have to account for that guaranteed money sometime. A pre-June 1st cut would make it all due that season. A post June 1st cut would give the Browns the opportunity to spread it out over 2-years but in either case, they still have to account for the entire contract unless Watson has violated it in some way.

Pre-June 1st Cut Dead Money:

This year's dead money is $172,734,000

2026 dead money is estimated to be $99,799,000 provided the Browns account for the $72,935,000 planned cap charge. According to reports, Berry has restructured again so this number will go higher again.

2027 Watson is a free agent. Dead money still owed to the books will be $26,864,000 provided Berry records the planned $72,935,000 due in 2025 and 2026. Again, if Berry doesn't or moves money, DEVERTS, this dead money cost will be higher.

Right now, the Browns are over 17M over the cap for 2025. Berry is going to have to do something to free up some cap funds. The last 2-years he has had the highest cash payout for any team in the NFL and already predicted to achieve that again in 2025. Someone would have to explain to me how you can have the highest cash spend and be tied for the worst record in the NFL? Yep, let's keep Berry and Stefanski: one spending money like it grows on trees with no results and the other posting a 5-year losing record - makes sense to me - LOL!

j/c...

John Kelly Jr. is back! A tradition unlike any other.

j/c

I don't normally rely much on what sportscasters and others have to say about the Browns. But here is what several had to say about the same thing and I thought some of you may want to see it. It's only part of a larger article at the link provided...................

“(Ken) Dorsey not getting the criticism he deserves. Bills were better before him and after him, and Browns play calling has been bad all year,” former Browns CEO Joe Banner posted.

“I feel bad for DTR. Legitimately,” Danny Cunningham of 92.3 The Fan posted.

“Yup, that’s gonna do it. What a miserable game in a dreadful season,” Dave DeNatale of WKYC-TV posted.

“This is what happens when you let a Pro Bowler QB get away,” Anthony Lima of 92.3 The Fan posted.

“I feel bad for DTR. he really should not be out there,” Abby Mueller of the Orange and Brown Report posted.

“With the help of @ESPNStatsInfo, we found at least one other QB (like DTR) to start their career with 1 TD and 10 INT. Ryan Leaf. 1998. So there’s that...” ESPN Cleveland’s Aaron Goldhammer posted.

“No, last year’s team made the playoffs — with a real leader at QB, a much better scheme & easier schedule. Then they tried to cater everything to their $230 million quarterback and it produced a 3-14 season. The owner may say he feels great but no way he can. Many changes needed,” Fox college basketball announcer John Fanta posted.

“I hope the Browns have seen everything they need to with DTR,” Brandon Little of A to Z Sports posted.

“The Browns have let everyone know they like DTR and like what they are seeing in practice, so... What are they seeing in practice that we aren’t seeing on the field?” Nick Wilson of 92.3 The Fan posted.

“Wow the Cleveland #Browns are picking draft spot 3 at this moment Next week let’s go Pats and Titans !!!” Browns vlogger Paul Brown from London posted.

“If the #Browns just had an average offense they would be winning games(.) Defense isn’t that #1 beast it was last year but there’s elements still there,” BigPlay show host Matt Fontana posted.

“The Browns cut Tyler Huntley. Good for you, Tyler!” Neal Driscoll of the “Fin Too Deep” podcast about the Dolphins posted.

“The Browns got a good defense. At least Jameis had them moving the ball and scoring,” comedian and Cincinnati native Gary Owen posted.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...TNpYXyD1LB8Qo_aem_i-Cp1Lz6Oc2upvm1FbSDAQ

I really liked Kelly, especially in preseason against 3rd stringers.

At this point I feel like we owe him the opportunity to get curb-stomped by a playoff team gunning for a higher seed.

It was never going to be pretty. This part was always going to happen, the crappy part is that we have nothing to show for it.

I'd hate to see him not get his due....

Correct me if I’m wrong but I can’t see any other sensible option than to take the majority of the hit in 2025 and 2026, trade Myles & Co when this season is over to get some more draft picks and start the rebuilding asap.

The Browns 1999 expansion scored over 20 pts more in a game than the 2024 team.
If that's not cause for alarm and desperation then I don't know
What is.
What the Browns achieved in 2023 was fools gold .
11 wins and a very quick playoff exit
That 2023 team faced so many bums at QB. Of course they won
11 games.
This team can't even beat Snoop Huntley
Every procrastination outlet will predict the Browns to finish
Last in the AFC North next season.
And they won't be wrong

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...t-and-denzel-ward-in-the-2025-games.html

Jeudy, Garret and Ward.