Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel, Glenn Cook (9.2.24)

Did you guys put in any claims after the 53 cuts?

“No, we felt pretty good where we were in terms of our roster. I think this is honestly the first year in a while where we, you know, we didn’t put a claim, didn’t get guy claimed. So, feel good about where the roster is. I’ll just say the last eight months is kind of the personnel staff’s journey, right? Just us trying to put the team in the best position we can, and we feel like we try to exhaust whether it’s claims, trades, all the different avenues available to us to maximize the 53 and the best team we can put together to be ready for something like we’re about to face week one in the Cowboys.”

 

When you form that 53, Glenn, how much goes into 16 guys on the practice squad and only two tight ends on the 53 but, you know, you’re gonna pull somebody up. So how does that factor in?

“Yeah, Jeff (Schudel), I think it’s that math problem is what we’re trying to solve. Just trying to make sure we put Kevin (Stefanski) and the coaching staff in the best position as possible to be ready to go out not only week one, but, you know, we’re trying to play 22 weeks or however many it is to make it to the end. So, you know, that’s the calculation we’re going through to see, ‘hey, who, you know, in terms of like, when we, we make our decisions, who fits best, you know, both short and long term’. So, all that plays into account.”

 

Can you shed some light on kind of what is going on with Jed Wills? I think we all expected that we would see him out here at some point a lot sooner than this.

“Yeah, I won’t get too much into it, Mary Kay (Cabot), but he’s, you know, he’s working to get back and I think, you know, we put faith in our staff to say, ‘hey, when he’s ready to go, he’ll be ready to go.’ So, you know, we got guys out there getting ready to play Sunday and if he’s available, I’m sure coach will make a decision on that.”

 

Andrew (Berry) in the past, right back in March, indicated he wanted to keep a place kicker on the practice squad. Why hasn’t that happened?

“Yeah, again, there are probably a couple things. We set a bunch of goals. There are a couple of them that we maybe haven’t accomplished just yet, but kind of, as you guys have seen, especially what we went through last year, this thing is a living organism. So, it’ll continue to evolve. We’re continuing to scourge the entire landscape of the NFL right now and see what’s available. So, it’s a possibility that we do, but, you know, right now, you know, Dustin’s (Hopkins) a pretty good kicker, and we’re happy to have him.”

 

Last week, you guys, you were hoping to get something for one of these quarterbacks. You ended up releasing Tyler Huntley. Is there anything to him going back to the Ravens, considering you guys tweaked the offense and, you know, put all this energy into, you know, retooling that side?

“Yeah, look, I think it’s just a part of what we do, right? Like, you’re constantly adding and removing players from the roster, and sometimes they go to division foes, sometimes they go to your next opponent or opponent you play in three weeks. So, you know, it happens. You know, wish Snoop (Huntley) the best. You know, it’s a familiar place for him and again, you never know, like, he could be back.”

 

Two years ago, the Browns started the season as the youngest team, roster wise.

“You’ve asked this question a couple of times (laughter).”

 

Yeah, I need your answer. Now you’re almost the oldest, depending on what website. What do you make of that? Is that good? Is it coincidental?

“I think that’s just a part of it, right? Like, you know, I think we try to be intentional about how we build it, but not let one variable play too much into it. So, you know, I think Kevin mentioned that we want really good football players, and we understand, you know, age is a factor, and we try to take that into account. But, yeah, I wouldn’t say there is a specific thing that sticks out in terms of that number.”

 

Does it reflect that greater sense of urgency to win now?

“No, I mean, I think you guys should know we’re always urgent, just the way we approach it. So, I don’t think age is a descriptor of that. That’s just our approach.”

 

Beyond just the Jed injury, you had other ones during camp at left tackle. How hard was that and do you feel completely comfortable with, I guess, your healthy bodies?

“I mean, I think we got a good rep last year, you know, just throughout the season and experiencing injuries just across the roster, but specifically at left tackle. So, I felt like we had a pretty good plan in place. James (Hudson III) has played a lot of football, a lot of confidence in James. If he needs to play there or whoever coach puts there, I think we have players on our roster that can go out on Sunday and perform.”

 

You guys almost experienced worst case scenario at quarterback and the offensive line last year with injuries, how much did that experience reshape maybe the way you go about this season or protecting the roster?

“Yeah, I mean, I definitely think it’s important to learn from things like that. I think, you know, maybe that’s unique to have, what, 24 guys go on IR. But we definitely took a step back and tried to learn from that experience and make sure — look, you can’t prepare for any and every scenario that’s going to happen because inevitably something this year will come up that will be unique. But, yeah, you know, we try to learn from it and just tweak our approach here and there and have a good foundation just across the roster.”

 

It was three-straight off-seasons where you go out and you bring in a veteran wide receiver. From a front office perspective, when you look at the acquisition of Amari (Cooper), Jerry (Jeudy) and Elijah (Moore), what kind of common traits stood out, whether it was on the field or maybe with, you know, contractually?

“Ultimately, especially at that position, the skill positions on offense. You want guys that can get open. I think all three of those guys are pretty talented route runners and understand how to get open in different ways from different positions. So not only do they provide that, but they provide the flexibility to move them around. They both played inside and outside. So, as you guys know, when we go through the season, you may have an injury here or there. So being able to just sort of move the chess pieces around and be flexible and still run your offense as, you know, as close to 100% as you can, is an asset to have at the least. So, I think that’s what we have in those three guys. And honestly, just throughout the room.”

 

As a South Florida guy, were you able to maybe, like, throw in any extra insight or anything like that on these guys, or no?

“No, it wasn’t on purpose. You know, as you kind of step back, like, we’re starting to have a number of South Florida guys on the team, but no, it’s just kind of worked out. Maybe it’s just in the water.”

 

Was there any thought at all that perhaps Nick (Chubb) could have made it here for one of these first four games of the season? And now that he has to miss these first four, what is sort of the vibe, or the hope or the feeling on when he might return?

“Yeah, I think coach hit it, like he’s working hard, man. I think we’ve seen it since The Greenbrier. If anyone was pushing to be ready week one, it’s definitely Nick and I know he’s scratching and itching to get out there. So just whenever he’s ready, we’ll be ready and accepting of him, you know, helping us, you know, put up points on offense, but, you know, the staff and coach and the medical group will do us right and I feel good in that.”

 

Glenn, a lot of coaches would be very set in their ways when it comes to the type of personnel. Kevin’s first year, it was about tight ends and running backs and fullbacks and now a couple years down the line, there’s been a little bit of a shift. Just how much easier does that make it for you guys in the front office when you have a coach that’s malleable and willing to be flexible when it comes to personnel?

“I think one, that’s a testament to Kevin. I think he understands that you have to grow, and you have to evolve, and he definitely still has his foundation. I think you guys will see that, but he’s always pushing to make sure he is being his best version of himself. So again, that’s a testament to just him as a really, really good coach for our team. The second thing, it makes our job really easy, right? So, you still have to make sure you’re providing the adequate resources for him to do what he wants to do. But when you have a little bit more flexibility in terms of certain archetypes at positions, it opens up sort of your Rolodex and options across the different acquisition types.”

 

You had a preseason to kind of see, in a small sample size, the new kickoff rule. How much did the data and analysis of that impact maybe some decisions, maybe at the back half of the roster?

“I think we learned a lot about just the play in and of itself from other leagues, from the preseason, but I think we’re still going to learn. I’m sure some teams have kept things hidden and held back before they got into week one. So, we’re still learning. I think it’s one of those things that will be continuous probably throughout the year for the entire league to understand really what the impact of the play is and maybe, you know, what’s the most valuable way to deploy players and sort of execute on that phase. So, we’ll see, you know, we’re still learning, but given what we know now, we feel good to go out and start to put things forward.”

 

Kevin Stefanski mentioned that we should stay tuned when he was asked about DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) being the number three heading into this game. So, my question is that you know, I’m sure some of that is just competitive advantage and not giving anything away at all to the (Dallas) Cowboys, but did DTR actually rise to the level where he can pull that off and throw that out there as a mystery or a possibility?

“Stay tuned. [Laughing] No, I would say, look, like, DTR, he played a couple games last year as a rookie, which is tough for any rookie. And I think, you know, seeing him since May and the development and evolution of his game – that’s what you want to see, right? Regardless of right now where he is on the depth chart, the growth that he’s made on the football field is, you know, we’re excited about that, like, very excited about that, to be honest. So, again, you got to stay tuned on the other part with coach. You know, I don’t have that answer.”

 

Over the past couple of years, you guys have kept some undrafted free agents on the roster, and you guys have found some talent in the late rounds because, well you had to. How has the front office kind of evolved in that regard of finding talent that you can develop, and maybe some gems, that can get real playing time?

“Honestly, I think it’s a testament to the group. You know, Max Paulus is our college director, and, you know, Andrew (Berry) actually kind of put his thumb on us, not in a negative way, but just challenged us to make sure that we were optimizing, you know, all the avenues to get players. I said that earlier, and I think ever since that conversation, you know, D (D’Anthony) Bell, Rocket (Ronnie Hickman Jr.), you know, this year with (Javion) Cohen, you know, it’s tough for those, those guys to make the roster, and you got to find players who have the right makeup and grit to claw for those backend spots. So, I think it’s a testament to just the players themselves as well. Our scouting group identified guys with those qualities, and now they, you know, they take advantage of the opportunity. So, it helps make our job easier when they do, right? It makes us look better, too.”

 

I know Jim Schwartz has used the analogy of adding some change ups in with their fastball. Like, how confident are you guys? You guys have so many guys coming back, but that this thing is going to have new wrinkles in it and look different, and you guys are going to be able to stay a step ahead of offenses trying to figure it out?

“Yeah, I think we got to just stay in step. I think teams have a lot of film on us from last year. I think we understand that, you know, people will come really prepared to attack us in different ways. So, Jim and his group worked hard in the offseason to make sure we had answers, and that’s the big thing. So just have answers for what we know we’re going to see, and so, you know, we feel good about that.”

 

Is this the best 53 since you’ve been here?

“I don’t know. I hope so. You know, like, we feel good about it regardless. Like, it’s a really good group. You know, these guys continue to gel really well. I think that’s the part that I’m confident and happy about the most, is just the team that we have. It’s just a really, really, really close-knit team. These guys care about winning. Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to. So, we feel good about being ready for Sunday and moving forward.”

 

How do the new practice squad rules, the size affect maybe the bottom of the 53? Do you keep more young guys because you can sign veterans to the practice squad than you might have?

“I think it gives you flexibility to kind of do what you need to do, right? And when, you know, you can maybe add a few more vets to p-squad (practice squad), but I don’t know that that’s, you know, 100% driver of it every single time, but it does give us the flexibility to do something like that.”

 

Glenn, how optimistic are you that Mike Hall Jr. will be able to rejoin you guys early on this season?

“Mike’s working through what he needs to work through, being on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, and so he’ll continue to do that. I probably won’t say much more on Mike at the moment.”

 

Glenn, when it comes to you guys’ restructure, you restructured Deshaun (Watson) last week. When it comes to those restructures and those big contracts, is that sort of built into the idea of, like, we can sign this big contract and reach into it down the road?

“Yeah, I think we structure and sort of approach all of those contractual conversations with the idea of giving ourselves flexibility. So, I think that’s just across the magnitude of the contract. I think that’s just built into more of our philosophy.”

 

Which one player that made the 53 surprised you the most?

“You know I don’t like that question [Laughing]. You know, I don’t like that [joking]…I’m really happy for the hometown guy, Javion. Just being selfish, you know he’s a U (University of Miami) guy. But all those young guys, I think just, you know, seeing Jamari Thrash push through and develop in the training camp and Myles Harden, you know, being a seventh-round pick, it’s really tough to make a team as a seventh-round pick. But he’s tough, he’s competitive, a really smart kid. So I just think just across the roster, I can’t pick a favorite.”