History shows judging Browns moves takes time

Andrew Berry delivered on his first day as Browns general manager like no GM since — since John Dorsey.

Andrew Berry delivered on his first day as Browns general manager like no GM the Browns have had since — since John Dorsey.

The Browns ended 2019 needing a right tackle. Check that box because Berry convinced Jack Conklin, the best right tackle in free agency, to move from Tennessee to Cleveland.

Five tight ends were on the roster by the end of 2019. But quantity does not equate quality. Berry within the first hour of legal tampering on March 16 silenced skeptics about his qualifications to woo talented players to the Browns by giving Austin Hooper a four-year, $42 million contract. The former Atlanta Falcon is now the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

Berry finished his first day on the job by filling another need when he got Case Keenum to agree to a three-year, $18 million contract to push starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Berry deserves praise for all three moves. He is proving the announcement that he and Coach Kevin Stefanski share the same vision is more than rhetoric.

But before declaring the Browns are now ready to contend for the AFC championship we should hit the rewind button to March 2018. We were giddy because of what Dorsey — finally, a football guy in charge — did at the start of free agency in his first year being in charge.

Dorsey traded a fourthround and a seventh-round draft pick to the Dolphins for wide receiver Jarvis Landry. He traded a thirdround

pick to Buffalo for quarterback Tyrod Taylor, traded quarterback DeShone Kizer to the Packers for safety Damarious Randall plus draft pick and traded nose tackle Danny Shelton and safety Jason McCourty to the Patriots for picks in the third and sixth rounds.

Cornerbacks T.J. Carrie and Terrance Mitchell, tight end Darren Fells, running back Carlos Hyde, defensive end Chris Smith and offensive tackle Donald Stephenson were all signed by Dorsey in the first two days of free agency in 2018.

That wheeling and dealing by Dorsey, and then what he did in the 2018 draft when he selected quarterback Baker Mayfield plus cornerback Denzel

Ward in the first round, running back Nick Chubb in the second and wide receiver Antonio Callaway in the fourth round was supposed to thrust the Browns into contention for the AFC North title after finishing 0-16 in 2017.

One clown (me) in May 2019 even suggested Dorsey deserves his own statue outside FirstEnergy Stadium if the Browns won a Super Bowl under his guidance.

Look at those early moves by Dorsey two years later. The only players on the roster are Landry and Mitchell, and that includes players picked and since cut with the draft picks acquired. The Browns were 7-8-1 and 6-10 under Dorsey.

None of this history detracts from what Berry

did on March 16. He showed he will be aggressive, as he vowed to be.

Hooper and Conklin could have signed with other teams, but they believed the money was right and they must believe the Berry-Stefanski partnership has promise. That’s important given the chaotic way 2019 ended with Freddie Kitchens being fired as head coach and Dorsey walking away because he would not take a demotion to work under Berry in a different role.

But if the last two years is a reminder of anything, it is that we should wait to say the Browns have arrived.