Browns roster built by Andrew Berry deep enough to absorb injury crush | Jeff Schudel

Dec. 16—Many people deserve credit for keeping the Browns in the thick of the AFC playoff race despite the rash of injuries that have claimed players on offense, defense and special teams. Right near the top of the list is general manager Andrew Berry.

Berry, through the draft, trades, free agent signings and even practice squad signings has given head coach Kevin Stefanski a roster deep enough that Stefanski and his coaching staff can still field a team capable of winning on Sundays. This isn't at all to diminish the remarkable job Stefanski has done of keeping his team focused despite all the challenges the injuries have caused.

"Coach Stefanski does a good job with allowing us to know that it's not Sunday that's the emphasis or Saturday that's the emphasis. But it's the day that we are living in right now," linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah said. "It's the hour we're living in. It's the second we're living in.

"And when the young guys step in, they really embrace that. So, for them to focus on the now, focus on the responsibility, each and every play, I think it's those little things that mean a lot."

Depth was always a problem when injuries hit in the past. Joe Thomas, the Hall of Fame left tackle who played for the Browns from 2007-2017, often blamed December collapses on attrition.

Here are some of the key moves made under Berry, who was hired as vice president of football operations and general manager on January 27, 2020. Stefanski was hired 15 days earlier.

—Running back — Berry drafted Jerome Ford in 2022, traded for Pierre Strong at the end of August and signed Kareem Hunt a day after Nick Chubb was injured in the second game of the season.

—Wide receiver — Amari Cooper was acquired by Berry in a trade with the Cowboys on March 16, 2022, for a 2022 fifth-round pick and a swap of sixth-round picks. Elijah Moore and a 2023 third-round pick were acquired in a trade with the Jets in March 2023 for a 2023 second-round pick.

—Offensive line — Dawand Jones, selected in the fourth round, turned out to be the Browns' best value pick of the 2023 draft. He took over as the starting right tackle after Jack Conklin was injured in the opener and was playing very well until a knee injury in practice Dec. 7 ended his season.

Left tackle Geron Christian was signed off the Chiefs' practice squad on Oct. 31. Thirteen days later he became the starting left tackle after a knee injury sidelined Jedrick Wills. Christian has played remarkably well, which is a credit to him and offensive line coach Bill Callahan.

Center Ethan Pocic was signed on April 6, 2022, to backup Nick Harris. Harris suffered a season-ending knee injury in the summer of 2022. Pocic played so well the Browns signed him to a three-year extension in March. Now Pocic is on the shelf with a neck stinger and Harris is back in as the starter.

—Punt returner — James Proche was signed to the practice squad on Oct. 31 and elevated to the 53-man roster on Nov. 7, the same day Christian was promoted. Proche replaced Donovan Peoples-Jones (DPJ was traded to the Lions on Oct. 31) as the punt returner. Proche was an immediate upgrade. He is averaging 10.0 yards a return. DPJ was averaging 6.5 yards a return when he was traded. Peoples-Jones was hesitant field punts. Proche isn't.

—Kicker — Berry used a 2022 fourth-round draft pick on Cade York. It seemed like a good idea at the time, especially after York nailed a 58-yard field goal in the 2022 season opener to beat the Panthers, 26-24. But York failed under pressure in numerous other situations last year and in the 2023 preseason.

Rather than stubbornly staying loyal to his draft pick, Berry on Aug. 28 traded a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Chargers for Dustin Hopkins. It was like getting a Mercedes Benz for $100. Hopkins is 8-for-8 on field goals of 50 yards or longer and 31 of 34 on field goals overall.

York was cut one day after Hopkins was acquired.

—Defensive line — This is where Berry had his biggest impact on the 2023 roster. Defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson, Shelby Harris and Maurice Hurst plus defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo were all signed as free agents. Hurst is on IR with a pectoral injury and Okoronkwo might be headed to IR with the same injury; Okoronkwo on Dec. 15 was ruled out for the game with the Bears on Dec. 17.

The injuries don't diminish what Berry did to upgrade the defensive line. The list above does not include Za'Darius Smith, the defensive end who was acquired from the Vikings along with a sixth-round and seventh-round pick in 2025 for a fifth-round pick in 2024 and a fifth-round pick in 2025.

—Safety — Grant Delpit suffered a season-ending groin injury last week when the Browns beat the Jaguars. Juan Thornhill will miss a second straight game with a calf injury when the Browns play the Bears. That means undrafted rookie Ronnie Hickman from Ohio State and D'Anthony Bell, signed as an undrafted rookie in 2022, will be the likely starting safeties against Justin Fields and the Bears. Hickman broke up a fourth-down pass from Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence at a critical time in the fourth quarter last week.

—Quarterback — I saved this position for last. There were several out-of-work veteran quarterbacks Berry could have had in for a tryout once he finally admitted the Browns weren't going to win consistently with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker. Berry wisely chose Joe Flacco over Nick Foles or Matt Ryan. Flacco worked out in Berea on Nov. 17, was signed to the practice squad three days later and on Dec. 17 against the Bears will make his third straight start for the Browns.

A veteran should have been signed to back up Deshaun Watson early in the season, but better late than never.

—Twenty-nine players on the current roster were drafted — not all by Berry — but of that group Wills (knee), Chubb (knee), linebacker Jacob Phillips (pectoral), wide receiver Michael Woods (non-football injury), Delpit and center Dawson Deaton (knee) are on injured reserve.

Twenty-eight free agents are on the roster. A dozen were signed as unrestricted free agents. Three were undrafted and 13 were street free agents. Flacco, Christian, Hunt, Harris, Hurst and Proche are among the street free agents. So is long snapper Charley Hughlett, who has been with the Browns since 2014.'

Two of the unrestricted free agents are on injured reserve — right tackle Jack Conklin (knee), return specialist Jakeem Grant. Both were signed by Berry.

Seven players on the roster were acquired via trade. Six of them were acquired by Berry. Cornerback Kahlef Hailassie and offensive lineman Drew Forbes were claimed off waivers.

It will take at least one more season to pass judgment on the trade for Watson, but early returns are not in the Browns' favor. They traded six draft picks to the Texans — three of them first-round choices — in March 2022 and guaranteed Watson an unprecedented $230 million after he originally rejected a trade to Cleveland, which was his right because he had a no-trade clause in his contract with Houston.

When this season comes to an end, Watson will have played in 12 of a possible 34 games. He was suspended 11 games in 2022 for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy because more than two dozen massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct when he played for the Texans.

Two separate shoulder injuries are costing Watson 11 games this season. He will be working his way back from surgery to repair a fractured right shoulder when training camp begins next summer. He is 7-4 as a Browns starter with 14 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

The other trades worked out splendidly; Smith, Cooper, Strong, Teller, Moore and Hopkins are all keys to this playoff charge. They were all acquired by Berry, with the exception of Teller. Former general manager John Dorsey in the summer of 2019 pried Teller and a 2021 seventh-round pick from the Bills for a fifth-round and sixth-round pick in 2020.

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