Executive Vice President, Football Operations and General Manager, Andrew Berry (6.2.26)
Opening Statement:
“Morning, everyone. So I’ll be honest, I did not have this press conference on my bingo card for this spring. I know you all have heard me say for a number of years at this point that, Myles Garrett, he’s a foundational player. Hall of Fame worthy, and a homegrown talent that’s been here for the decades. And our intent was to have him be a one-helmet player for his career – and that was the truth. And even to this day when Myles’ career is over, we look forward to welcoming him back into the organization. But there are moments particularly in my job, where, you know, opportunities come up that quite honestly are unexpected and they force you to stop and reevaluate and look at it and say, ‘Hey, you know, is this something that could be really beneficial to the team?’ And that was the case in this instance where it got to a certain point where we looked at, what the trade details were and we asked ourselves, ‘Okay, you know, do we hold here regardless of – because of how emotionally right it felt, or do we ultimately make a decision that we think has a huge benefit to the team in both the short and long term?’ I always told myself that if, we were ever in a position where were going to trade Myles, three things would have to be true – number one, it would have to have short and long term benefits. Number two, as part of the trade, a young cost-control star at a premium position would have to be included. The third piece is that there would have to be premium draft capital, and there’s a very small set of deals that really satisfy those constraints. So, when it got to the point with our negotiations with the (Los Angeles) Rams, when all those things were satisfied, it really caused us to take a step back and really think about the decision. Jared Verse, he’s obviously a huge part of this return for us. Jared is an outstanding football player, former Defensive Rookie of the Year, two-time original ballot Pro Bowler. He’s a perfect DNA match for our attacking front. He’s really a terror in both phases, both as a run defender and a pass rusher, and we are really, really excited to add him to our team. He allows us to continue to play defense as a high level, which has been our standard over the past several seasons. And we’re really excited to welcome him into the organization. So, we’re excited about this transaction. It wasn’t something that we anticipated certainly coming into this year, coming into spring, or quite honestly coming out of the draft. But it’s a great opportunity for our team, and I know there are a ton of questions, so I’ll open it up.”
Andrew, I guess why now and do you regret not having made this when Myles asked to be traded after 2024?
“Yeah, no regrets, Scott (Petrak). In terms of the why now, the why now is just honestly the opportunity was too great. It wasn’t something, it wasn’t like a Plan A going into the off-season, but quite honestly we would have operated differently if it was. But sometimes things come across your path that you’re just, you’re not expecting and you can’t be so dogmatic in your strategy and planning that you can’t adjust and be flexible to great opportunities.”
Andrew, were you able to have conversations with Myles leading up into this moment – meaningful conversations leading up into this?
“And for clarification, Cam (Camryn Justice), regarding the trade or just more generally?”
I guess both.
“Yeah, both. Myles was a good communicator throughout the spring. We obviously talked during the coaching search, free agency, before the draft. He was good in terms of, sharing his travel plans in the offseason, things like that. So that was all very normal, as he’s been accustomed to later in his career. We did not blindside Myles with the news yesterday. Obviously, he’s a well-tenured member of the organization, someone that we expect to retire a Brown. So, he was made aware about a week ago that it was a possibility. And that’s a courtesy that obviously we owe him. So, the communication was good.”
So you did not consider Myles’ absence, travel plans, ghosting, a protest to leave the team?
“He didn’t ghost, and Tony (Grossi), no, not at all. I mean, Myles’ offseason ritual is pretty consistent the past couple years, and Myles was good in terms of communicating with us throughout the spring. So, I know there’s been a lot of conspiracy theories with that type of narrative, but that had zero impact on the trade.”
Andrew, going back to the contract restructuring, whatever you want to call it in the offseason, when you did that…you’ve talked about flexibility, but did you ever think at that point that you were going to, when you got past June 1, that this was a distinct possibility or?
“No, I mean, like I’d like to sit here and say it was some grandmaster for him, but it really wasn’t. What it did do is honestly probably because of a lot of that was reported – that is what originally caused LA to reach out and check in. And we said, ‘hey, look, he wasn’t available.’ To their credit, they were really persistent. And then really things kind of picked up after the draft.”
Are you able to like explain maybe provide a further clarity on why the date was moved back? Because, I mean, it ultimately benefited you in terms of salary cap?
“Yeah, I don’t talk about our contract management strategies as you know, Daniel (Oyefusi). I understand the curiosity with it. It’s one of those situations where probably the truth is a lot more boring than you all think. But I’m not going to comment on our strategy.”
Andrew, in terms of fans and people thinking that this move means you guys are tanking. What can you tell the fans about that? And then also like a corollary to that would be does this mean that, Denzel (Ward) could possibly be on the trading block now or can you address that?
“I guess I’d say two things. I’d say number one, all of our goals are still in front of us. We have an excellent defense with really good players on all three levels. And Jared, he’s an outstanding (player), he’s one of the best players in the game and so we’re excited to have him as a part of our team. To the second part of your question, I guess I maybe clarify your line of question, Mary Kay (Cabot), in the sense that like we weren’t…Myles wasn’t on the trading block. We weren’t auctioning him off. This is not something that was a primary consideration going into the spring.”
Andrew, had Myles indicated to you that he’d be open to being traded still?
“No. There was no like, you know, trade request or anything like that, Dan (Labbe). Obviously talked through it a little bit earlier because he did have the no trade clause and obviously he was pleased with LA, but that wasn’t the primary consideration.”
You mentioned that he wasn’t on the block and weren’t auctioning him off. There were reports that this was the only team that he seriously engaged in talks, why not open up the bidding and try to get a few more picks out of it?
“That wasn’t the goal. That wasn’t the goal of Myles. Probably what I mentioned on the onset, if we were to trade Myles, it’s a very narrow universe of deals that satisfy it. Everyone wants to have a Myles Garrett on their team, but not everyone can afford that acquisition cost in terms of players, picks and dollars. And so yeah, that was not the intent of any of it.”
To go back to Mary Kay’s question about Denzel, maybe some of the other veterans. I mean, there’s been so much change, obviously, for them these last few months now with Myles gone, too. Like, do you plan on having any conversations with them or do you feel like they know, like, ‘hey, our goals are the same?’ Like, do you feel that there’s that sentiment there after a move like this?
“Ashley (Bastock), change is commonplace in the NFL and roster turnover is commonplace in the NFL. You know, we have good communication with all of our players. You know, obviously for a move of this magnitude, we communicate directly with them. So, they hear it from us and they understand everything that’s involved. But we have a good group of guys in that locker room, and we’re really excited about the core.”
Some might argue that you received more for Travis Hunter than you did for Myles Garrett. Even if you don’t acknowledge that, do you think Myles’ age was the one factor that you couldn’t get more?
“I’ll tell you what, we were very pleased with the return we got, Tony. I think for us, getting a player of Jared’s caliber, plus the pick considerations was excellent. It’s something that we certainly didn’t expect coming into the spring.”
When teams called in February 2025, what did you tell the teams then?
“No. Do you have a follow up?”
Yeah, I mean, that’s just, you weren’t doing it?
“I was like, yeah, we’re not interested in trading Myles.”
When you look at where the Rams and their, I guess, expectations, if you will, a lot of people say those picks aren’t as good because they’re likely going to be in the back end of the rounds and therefore it wasn’t enough even with Jared, just what would you say to that? You know, the first, the second and the third likely could very well end up in the back end of those rounds.
“Yeah, I think that I’d say a couple things to that, Daryl (Ruiter). I’d say, number one, the combination of picks and players is…we think is excellent. We’re really pleased with it short and long term. I’d say the second piece of that in terms of us today, on June 2, assuming where we know those picks, we all probably have to have a little bit of humility because we just don’t know how the season’s going to unfold. And probably the third part is, realistically, any team that is making a move for a player of Myles’ caliber, they feel like they’re in their window or they are in their window. There’s unlikely to be a deal out there where you’re getting an expected top five pick out of it which is why the volume of picks and particularly the inclusion of Jared was incredibly important.”
Andrew, I know you said that you didn’t have this on your bingo card. So, I’m just wondering, is there a moment you can pinpoint where it went from being, “no, this is never going to happen” to “oh, this is seeming like it is.”
“The inclusion of Jared in the deal, yeah.”
I know quarterbacks always a topic, but when you look at Myles, obviously the biggest asset. Do you see anyway, get this first pick, how that can help you ultimately solve the quarterback issue?
“Yeah, I understand and respect the question. We’re way too premature to figure out how we’re going to deploy that asset. We’ve got an entire season to play. We’ve got a group of players that we’re really excited to see this fall and, you know, we’ll deal with 2027 in 2027.”
And is that one of the reasons, maybe you delayed a little bit was to see if you could use that as a chip to get yourself in position?
“No, I’d say honestly, it’s independent of any present circumstance, Fred (Greetham). Like, the return with Jared, plus the resources, we just felt was too great to turn down.”
Todd Monken came out strongly against pursuing Brendan Sorsby. What is your attitude toward the participation in the supplemental draft if he is in it?
“Yeah, we haven’t had a supplemental draft in a while, or I guess a couple years now. No different than we do every year. We’ll do the work on all the prospects and then we’ll make the appropriate decision for the organization.”
You mentioned that you obviously have a season to play. How do you kind of square with, I guess mostly the fan base who seeing this trade and maybe feel like it’s a concession of 2026 maybe setting Todd Monken up for failure and all that and just kind of looking more towards the future.
“Yeah, Spencer (German), I think I understand the emotional reaction of Myles. Look, we’ve known him since he’s 21 years old coming out of Texas A&M. We’ve seen him grow up here and everything like that. He’s accomplished really great things for us on the field and so there’s always an emotional tie for someone who’s going to be one of the franchise greats. So, we certainly understand that. In terms of the second part of your question, [we] don’t see it that way at all. We’re really excited about Jared. We’re really excited about this defense. I know Monk’s really excited about, bringing Jared into the organization, but everything’s still right in front of us.”
Andrew, do you think that you could have gotten a similar return for Myles last year, correct?
“I don’t know Daniel, we didn’t shop him.”
Because I was just asking like, do you think the messaging and maybe your actions have been maybe a little bit inconsistent when you talk about adding talent and still wanting to be competitive and then going away and trading the best player arguably in the NFL? Just do you think your messaging, maybe your actions have been a little bit incongruous over the past few years?
“I’d say this, I didn’t expect to be up here talking about a Myles Garrett trade, Daniel. You know, this is not my favorite thing to do because like I said, I didn’t have it on the bingo card and I realized how strong I’ve been with Myles. But the reality is when you have an opportunity to do something that has strong, both short- and long-term benefits, you have to be flexible with it. So, we’re real excited for him from a team perspective.”
Okay, two-part question. One, we know all trades are tough. Where does this rank in all the moves you’ve made in terms of emotional ties?
“I don’t know that I could rank them. Obviously, like it’s tough because it’s Myles and I’ve known him for so long. But the benefit of that is, Myles will be a part of many of our lives beyond his playing career. It’s maybe more of a see you later as opposed to a goodbye to sound maybe a little bit corny. So, like that part is tough, but they’re all tough because these are human beings. They’re not commodities and their lives change.”
So I understand the value of moving him June 1st with the money, but if you weren’t willing to shop him around, could you potentially look later down the road in the summer like why now, yesterday, versus maybe in two weeks when in theory you could potentially shop him around to get a better offer versus what the Rams gave you?
“So, I think it goes back to two things that I said previously. We weren’t shopping him around – that was not the intention to trade him. And then number two, the characteristics I described in like any deal in which Myles Garrett would be included, like fell at our feet, and Jared’s a big part of that along with the draft pick resources. So, it’s really as simple as that.”
Andrew, I have a two-parter here. First of all, a follow up on Denzel. Last year when Myles was on radio row at the Super Bowl, I talked to Denzel and he mentioned that if Myles were traded, it would make him kind of question what his own situation was here. So, I’m wondering, have you guys heard from Denzel and have reassurance that he’s fully on board and committed to the program in the aftermath of this?
“So, I’d say number one, I think it’s probably most appropriate for Denzel to speak for himself. Number two, Denzel’s been great throughout the offseason. His communication’s been good. He’s a big part of the team, and we like him a lot. He’s still playing at a really high level. That doesn’t change with this transaction.”
How has Jared Verse reacted to the trade? You know, going from a Super Bowl contender to a team that’s building towards that right now.
“He was very excited yesterday when we talked to him on the phone. He’s ready to go. I think he’s really excited to play in the scheme. I think maybe some of you already know he’s from Dayton, Ohio, so his sister is still here and everything like that. But he’s going to be fun. He’s a ton of energy. He’ll bring some colorful quotes for everyone in this room.”
The quarterback still remains the elephant in the room. Whether or not you have the solution in-house right now is still in question. If it is not, can you still win and achieve the goal of finding that franchise quarterback? Because obviously the more games you win, the lower you are in the draft picks.
“Yeah, Daryl, I don’t love dealing with hypotheticals, especially about the draft and we’re in May, and haven’t played a play this season. All I can tell you is like we’re focused on the guys that are in the building. They had a really nice spring. I’m really pleased with the Monk and the staff. We’re excited about the season.”
Andrew, in terms of Jared, just two parts – when will he get here and where do you see the fit? He was listed as a linebacker with the Rams, but he was defensive lineman in college.
“So expect him to get here, assuming no travel issues, Tuesday evening, this evening. And then you guys should get a chance to see him and meet him tomorrow. I think the blurring of outside linebacker and defensive end, that’s really what you’re seeing in today’s game. He’s a perfect fit as an edge rusher for our defense.”
Do you feel you’re thin depth wise on defensive end?
“I think you could add depth everywhere, honestly, Tony. The roster-building process is literally every day and if we can find guys that we think can upgrade at any spot, we’ll look to do so.”
And do you feel at all stuck kind of in the middle between, you know, the roster? You’ve gotten the roster so much younger and we’ve talked about that versus doing a complete rebuild which might require trading guys like Myles. Do you feel at all stuck in the middle trying to win, but also trying to redo this roster?
“I don’t. And I guess I maybe go back to what I mentioned this spring. I don’t necessarily agree with the implicit assumption that younger means worse.”
Andrew, you have talked about who Myles was to this franchise, to this organization, and obviously your goal is on the football field primarily, but you lose a face of the franchise and staple in the community. So where do you feel like the roster stands in terms of that kind of player? Do you have those kinds of players to kind of step in and fill those shoes of the role that Myles held not just in the locker room, but around Northeast Ohio?
“Yeah, I’d say this. I think one of the toughest things in professional sports is when players who everyone knows their name locally leave and new ones that they don’t know the names of take their roles. I think, probably could have asked me the same question with Nick Chubb last year, right? And we saw, Quinshon (Judkins) come in and make himself a household name in Northeast Ohio or David Njoku this year and now we have Harold Fannin (Jr.). So, I think that, look, professional sports can be cyclical at times and that’s always tough in these moments. But we are really excited about the number of the players that we have in the locker room that I think our fans will either continue to get more familiarity with or gain familiarity with over the upcoming season.”
Andrew, you talked a lot about Jared, and how Jared was sort of the piece that made you do the deal. How long have you sort of, I don’t know if covet’s the right word, but how long have you sort of been kind of zeroed in on him as a player that you guys really liked? I mean, does it go all the way back to the ’24 Draft? I mean, just what is it about him that made him just such a swing piece in this?
“You know, we liked him a lot coming out. We weren’t really in position to take him obviously the year that he came out, because he came out in ’24. That I would say probably had less of a bearing on this transaction. But you know what made it really easy is he’s like an outstanding player at 25 years old at a very hard to find position. So yes, like we’re excited to have him specifically, but you know, it’s not necessarily like this was like a, you have a two-year focal point in the making.”
Andrew, you mentioned it being an emotional decision, obviously, for you guys as an organization. Can you speak at all to the emotions maybe shared with Myles and what his emotions kind of were like in understanding what was kind of happening?
“You know, I think it’s more appropriate for Myles to comment on that, but what I can share is that it just was a really good meeting. Bittersweet is maybe the way I would describe it, but I’d probably let him comment on it more than me.”
Andrew, I remember Todd at his introduction saying Myles was one of the reasons this job was attractive to him. So what was his reaction when you told him you’re not going to have the best player in the league?
“Yeah, Todd was excited in terms of the deal. He understood the short- and long-term benefits. Again, it’s not about not wanting a Myles Garrett on your team, but he’s very excited to have Jared. He’s very excited to have the additional resources. Todd’s really smart. He understands the short- and long-term ramifications. And I think one of the things that’s unique about this deal relative to maybe the other non-QB superstar deals that come out is that we made a trade with I guess multiple – players and picks and usually when you make these trades, you’re completely trading off present for future. And, and to get a player like Jared in the deal where the defense still maintains its excellence, that was really attractive to us.”
What do you think Jared’s upside potential as an edge rusher is? I see he went from like four and a half to seven and a half [sacks]. Where do you see that going? And do you feel like with what you have on the team now, you can accomplish the pressure and the pass rush that you want to generate?
“Absolutely. I wouldn’t sit here and put a cap on any player’s ceiling. I just note the list of players that have been Defensive Rookie of the Year and original ballot Pro Bowlers in their first two seasons is very small.”
He’s been more of a pressures guy than a sacks guy so far in his career. What is your philosophy on the relationship between those two statistical categories?
“Yeah, I’d comment less on that and just say this is a guy who really gets after the quarterback really well.”
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