Executive Vice President, Football Operations & General Manager Andrew Berry (7.24.25)

 

Opening Statement:

“Obviously, a little bit of a different background for us this year relative to last year. We don’t have the mountains, but it does not diminish the excitement that we have for opening training camp this week. I would say it’s a little bit like the first day of school because all your players are back in the building, your coaching staff, your support staff. It really is. It’s really great to see everyone. I want to commend Kevin (Stefanski) and his staff as well as our medical performance groups for the offseason program that they put together. You know, I thought it was. It was chock-full of competition and really filled with very rigorous work, and it’s been great to see that continue through the early parts of camp, and, obviously, we’re really excited for day two. Before I open for questions, I want to talk a little bit about Quinshon’s (Judkins) situation. I’d start by saying that anytime, not just a player, but a member of your organization is involved in a legal situation, and particularly one that involves allegations of domestic violence, you lose a ton of sleep over it. You lose a ton of sleep over it not just because of the seriousness of the allegations, but also because of the amount of time and energy you spend vetting any person who comes into your organization. Then probably for us, in the past two years in particular, the amount of time and resources we spent on the education part of it, not just with our players, but with our whole organization. When this happens with a player, obviously these incidents, they become very highly public. Our view is our primary responsibility, our initial responsibility as an organization is to gather as much information, particularly quality information, as possible. Rarely, even though it’s a highly public incident, rarely does all the information become public or easily accessible. Which is why it’s so important for us to work through the legal process, work with investigators, obviously communicate and share information with the league. But it’s not until that time that we get enough information and enough quality information that we will determine or decide the next steps of what to do with that with the player or the employee. So, in terms of Quinshon (Judkins) specifically, we’re still gathering information. Sometimes that process occurs quickly, sometimes the information comes a little bit more slowly. We’re still in the information gathering stage with him. That, and given the fact that he’s still in an active legal situation, there’s not much that I can comment specifically on his, you know, specifically on his case at this point. But as we get to the point where we have enough information to determine the next steps, you know, we will certainly do so. The last thing I’ll say before I open it up to you all is, look, you know, we don’t want to be up here on day one talking about this. Our players don’t, our coaches don’t, our fans certainly don’t, I don’t think you all do. So, we’re going to obviously deal with that situation on a day-to-day basis as appropriate, but our focus will really be on preparing the team for our opener against Cincinnati in September. So, with that, I’ll open it up to questions.”

 

Do you have to wait until Quinshon’s (Judkins) legal situation is resolved before you sign him?

“You know, Jeff (Schudel), I’d say with Quinshon (Judkins) specifically, it’s to be determined. We are still gathering information, so, in terms of those decisions, signing, being at camp and everything like that, it’s probably too early to make any type of determination. So, as we gather information, we’ll have a better view on that.”

 

Is not signing him or letting him go on the table?

“You know, Dan (Labbe), the way I would say is, like I have learned in many of these off-field situations, not to go too far into the future. We’ll deal with the day-to-day. You end up using a lot of mental energy in terms of hypotheticals and things of that nature. We’ll focus on getting the information and then making the right decisions.”

 

Were you satisfied with your vetting process with him?

“Yeah, I’ll tell you this, Tony (Grossi). Like, for all of our players, we spend a ton of time and energy, use a variety of sources, background, legal, to make sure we understand the people. Like any process, you always look to refine it, you always look to improve it. One of the things that we probably look through, I’d say this space in general, is really the education process. One thing that we’ve learned is with domestic violence issues, there’s no target population, target demographic, target history. One of the things that we want to make sure that we do with all members of our organization is provide the resources, support and education so that all of them can have safe, healthy domestic partnerships.”

 

Andrew, looking back at the last two years, though, this is the third player that has faced something like this, with Devin (Bush) and Mike (Hall Jr.), too, what more do you feel like you guys need to be doing? Is there a concern that this is a pattern, that guys feel like it’s acceptable in some way?

“Yeah, I definitely don’t think guys view it as acceptable. One of the things that we had done over the summer, probably over the past couple summers, is talk to a number of experts in this area, and it probably goes to Tony’s question in terms of, you know, the education piece for us, where there isn’t always necessarily a pattern in terms of the demographic or the population and the incidents can take a variety of forms, not necessarily speaking to, like, our specific players. So, that really kind of led to our approach to really kind of ramp up the education to make sure that there was enough awareness, strong awareness and honestly, so guys realize, like, it’s not just that this could be someone else’s type of problem, and how important it is to have the tools ready for healthy relationships and partnerships.”

 

What does specific programming and resources look like in that regard for this organization? What are some of the things that you guys have implemented here?

“Yeah, so in 2024 we invited Sabrina Greenlee. She spoke about her story directly to our guys. We invited Lisa Friel, who’s the Senior Vice President of Special Investigations for the NFL. She obviously sees all these incidents across the league, to talk to and educate our guys. We actually replaced that education module, because you have a couple mandates right from the league, but we thought Lisa and her team would be a more effective in that space. We also added a module regarding sextortion and some of those situations to make sure that our guys understand what these situations can look like and what are the proper resources and tools so that they can make sure that we have the behaviors that are acceptable in the community.”

 

Last year, Mike (Hall Jr.) was back out there on the field a day after his arrest in Avon. So, I’m wondering, did you guys learn from that? Was that too soon? And if that was the case, so be it. But why is this situation so different where it’s taking so long to figure out what’s going on with Quinshon?

“So, Mary Kay (Cabot), that probably goes back to what I talked about earlier in terms of the information that we had at the time. All these situations are different and the information that we had at the time with Mike (Hall Jr.) was different than with Quinshon (Judkins). The other thing I’d add is any decision for follow-up whether it’s reintegration or discipline or removal from team activities. Those decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. Those aren’t football decisions. They’re made with a variety of people that have different expertise, many of whom aren’t in football operations. So, each situation is different. I don’t think you should necessarily map one to the other.”

 

Is the league involved in this process in sort of helping you guys determine what the right course of action right now is with Quinshon (Judkins)?

“You always stay in communication with the league. So, like there always some natural dialogue. But honestly, the league’s role is probably more in any potential investigation or vetting as opposed to this.”

 

So, Andrew, is the framework of a contract there? Because a lot of the second-round picks are resolved, or is there a pause on it from both sides?

“I’d say, in general, obviously the second round was unique this year. Now it’s pretty well slotted, you know, whether there’s a formal framework in place, like maybe the technical answer, but in terms of where that slot should land, yes, that’s pretty straightforward.”

 

How confident are you through your vetting process, going across the country doing research on just a wide range of guys. Just how confident are you that the information that you’re receiving, especially from the red flag character portion, you’re getting the full picture, you’re getting an accurate picture? I understand that you’re talking about employment and there’s some sensitivities in there as well, but do you feel like that people are being open and honest with you when it comes to some of these prospects in the pre-draft information you’re gathering?

“I think a big part of the pre-draft process is knowing who the reliable sources are. But Daryl (Ruiter), when we talk about vetting, it’s not about just flying in, talking to a position coach or talking to a support staff. Pretty extensive legal checks, pretty extensive background checks, whether that’s with the compliance office on campus. We actually employ a third-party company that does all of our security and background. So, everything, from if a guy has a speeding ticket to something more serious, that’s something that’s accessible to us. You know, that being said, it’s funny, we had Monte McNair in for- we used to call it scout school, it’s a football operations summit, former general manager of the Sacramento Kings. We were talking about, ‘Hey, for the background process. How did you guys go about it with the Kings?’ He was saying, just like anything else, it can be noisy. Like, to your point where it’s like, ‘okay, how many guys that we identified as, let’s say, tough or smart ended up actually being that?’ And the reality that things change. But to get back to the broader point, Daryl, it is important that we have a large web of sources. It is important to know who’s reliable. But to leave it at – maybe hearsay is the wrong term, but to leave it at just like, you know, an interview on a campus with, like a coach or an academic advisor, you know, that’s not nearly enough, and we use way more resources there.”

 

Speaking from a football perspective, Andrew, I mean, you’ve spent, you know, the 36th pick on the draft, and we don’t know when, you don’t know if he’s going to be or when he’s going to be. So, how big of a blow is that, especially for an offense that wants to recommit to the run game?

“I’d say this. We’ll deal with that day-to-day and we’ll see where we shake out in that position room. I think we’re excited for a number of individuals who are in that room, and we kind of really want to see how things play out, certainly in the short-term before we make many quick judgments or assessments.”

 

Speaking of speeding tickets, what was your opinion of Shedeur’s (Sanders) two excessive speed violations?

“Not smart, just not smart. It’s something that we’ve addressed with him. He understands the implications; he understands the consequences. I think the thing is – it’s not just about yourself. It’s not just about, having a joyride. It’s not just about driving a car really fast. But it’s about the fact that you can endanger other people. It’s about the fact that if a deer or someone cuts out in front of you, your reaction time, it’s just dangerous. It’s not something that we want our guys to be doing. It’s not something that they should be doing. The number one reason is because we don’t want some type of catastrophic accident. We saw that two years ago in Dallas or Houston with a player. That incident, everybody was lucky to walk away, and we don’t want that occurring with anyone in our organization.”

 

On quarterbacks, do you see a pathway to have four on opening day roster?

“I do.”

 

Is that in light of the asset that a quarterback is or having 69 with the practice squad, you can kind of hide one?

“I’d say this, we’ve largely looked at the last five spots of a roster as more developmental spots and that can come from any position. I also think with the roster flexibility nowadays, especially with the elevations that you’re able to have on the practice squad, there’s just more flexibility in terms of how to build your 48-man game day roster where it’s maybe not as quite as restrictive in the past. Now, that being said, when roster rules were more, let’s say, draconian, there have been teams that have carried four. So, if there are four that are 53-man worthy, we think it makes the most sense for us to keep them.”

 

Andrew, as you progressed throughout your GM career here, do you think your philosophy on players with character concerns has shifted at all? Have you become less adverse over the years?

“I wouldn’t say that, Nate, I’ve become less averse. I’d say honestly, that typically probably has not been a well where we want to dip into it aggressively. Now what issues? I think character can at times be a very broad term.  What issues that we think that we can support. Like, whether a guy has a mental concern or some issue with like life skills, things like that. Those are things that we can support. But players with maybe more serious issues like we typically handled in the past.”

 

Andrew, when it comes to decision on the starter, I wanted to ask will that solely be Kevin’s (Stefanski) decision. I want to frame it in the context of, you already acknowledged that you acquired an extra first-round pick in a draft that’s supposed to be stronger at quarterback. You have two rookie quarterbacks. Most people would just say to you to see what you have in those guys as opposed to putting Joe (Flacco) or Kenny (Pickett) out there. So, how will you as the general manager handle that?

“It’s a good question, right? Like this, it’s called what it is. They’re like at times a little bit of tension in terms of future versus future versus present. But that’s really not the way that we look at it. We look at it as hey, let’s have all these guys out there, let’s see how they perform. Let’s see what their strengths and weaknesses are and build an offensive support around the starter when Kevin’s ready to name it. I would say more generally to your question, Kevin and I might be the only ones who talk more about the quarterback position than you all are throughout the next couple weeks, and it’s something that we’ll talk about consistently. I think you guys know us well enough that we work really well together in that regard. But at the end of the day, I trust him. I mean, like, I trust our coaching staff in terms of who they want to play. I think we’ll get a lot more information over the next few weeks.”

 

Andrew, along the lines going back to running back room real quick, I know you said you’re excited about the guys that are here and in that room, but is there any thought to, especially this time of year when you want a lot of bodies in camp, potentially adding anybody to the roster in that group?
“If there’s a player that makes sense, and that would be across any position. In terms of, let’s say, the more tactical, like, functioning through camp or getting through the next several days. I think we’re in a good spot. Hopefully be in an even better spot as we work through, a couple of minor tweaks and injuries, things like that.”

 

Andrew, you won three games last year. So, what are realistic expectations for this team? You know, it was not a real good product to watch or anything like that.

“Yeah, and Terry (Pluto), I think I probably tell you every year when we do the interview before week one, every year’s unique. Every year is unique. Every year is different. You know, I was reading something with my former team, the Eagles, where they were bristling at the notion of being called defending champions, saying, hey, we’re not defending anything. That was 2024. We’re in 2025, and that’s right, that’s the case. We see it every year in the NFL. I think right now, Terry, like, our mentality is, let’s learn this team during training camp. Let’s get good, meaningful competitive reps. Let’s see how young players can progress, let’s determine roles and then we’ll go from there. The expectations, things like that, that’ll be a conversation for another day. I’m sure I’ll have just as unsatisfying of an answer, but we’re really looking forward to really doing the work and dealing with it.”

 

You put the roster together and you looked at what was last year and you brought in these guys for this year. When you look at this, why would you think it’s going to be better?

“I think, Terry, that we are very optimistic about a number of the players that we have on the roster. Quite honestly, I really like where our offensive scheme and our offensive coaching staff is. I think the benefit of having a lot of young players that are likely, we’ll see how the roles shake out, but you know, get more playing time is there’s a wide range really in both directions of outcomes for that specific spot. So, I think this is a year where we have the opportunity to see a lot of growth with some of the players who are going to be given and earn new opportunities. But like I said, we’re going to be focused on the work.”

 

Will you personally attend the Texas, Ohio State game?

“I can’t tell you all my secrets.”

 

Andrew, I wanted to ask you about your two PUP guys in Mike (Hall Jr.) and Deshaun (Watson). Can you give us an update and when you think those guys might be ready to go?

“So, I tried to do this well last year and I was so wrong in terms of what I told you guys that, I’m sorry this year I’m going the day-to-day route. Yes, we have an idea in terms of when we think they may hit the field. I have just learned by just being so wrong in that with the tackles last year that I’m just going to go the GM speak of day-to-day and we’ll see how they go.”

 

So just to follow up on that, you put JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) on the season ending PUP. So does this mean that you have hope that Deshaun (Watson) will be contributing to you this sometime on the field this year?

“Jeff (Schudel), I’d say like we’re dealing with Deshaun (Watson) and Mike (Hall Jr.) on a day-to-day basis. JOK, (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) admittedly is just a unique situation with his injury. So that’s a lot different than the other guys.”

 

In the initial statement, you guys said he’s going to miss most of the season. So, if that hasn’t changed, how likely is it that he really can’t play this season?

“Well, we’ll see. Day to day.”

 

Andrew, you said there’s a possibility of keeping all four. Two years ago, you were in a position where you traded away a veteran and then what transpired and it kind of put you in a bind where you were forced to play a young guy. If you’re in kind of the same spot, how much does what you went through in 2023 kind of color you?

“Yeah, that’s a good question, Chris (Easterling). I think the main difference in that year is we were at three. So I think I’ve said multiple times on the record that as long as we have three quarterbacks that we think are 53-man worthy, we’d like to keep three. That was a situation where we felt like the opportunity to wrestle with the short-term versus the long-term was too good to pass up. In 2023, we were able to manage it and obviously make the playoffs and everything. But that’s maybe a little bit different than where we sit today. If we’re in a situation and we receive some trade offer for one of the guys and we’re sitting with four guys on the active roster, that might be a different set of conversations and considerations than if we were carrying three and having that planned until literally the last weekend.”

 

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