While the rest of the NFL world is fixated on Super Bowl LX, Andrew Berry is staring at a spreadsheet in Berea, Ohio, trying to figure out how to rebuild an offense that was dead last in scoring for two consecutive years.
The Cleveland Browns general manager has tools. He has 10 draft picks, including two first-rounders (No. 6 and No. 24 overall). He has cap space, thanks to the league's expected salary cap increase. He has a brand-new head coach in Todd Monken, the former Ravens offensive coordinator who was introduced to the media just two days ago at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.
What Berry does not have is a quarterback. Or a functioning offensive line. Or a wide receiver anyone would call a genuine number one. He said as much himself at his end-of-season presser, in that particular GM-speak that sounds reasonable until you think about it too hard:
"We're not necessarily going to be in the phase where we're going to sign a bunch of mid-30s veterans to put us over the top, so to speak. That doesn't mean that we're not going to participate in free agency or participate with veteran players."
Translation: don't expect fireworks in March.
The quarterback situation is worse than you think
Let's just lay it out. Deshaun Watson, who hasn't looked like a starter since arriving in Cleveland in 2022 and played zero snaps in 2025 while rehabbing a torn Achilles, will be on the roster because his contract makes him virtually untradeable. He's absorbing nearly a quarter of Cleveland's cap space for the privilege of existing on the depth chart.
Behind him — or more accurately, ahead of him — sit two rookie quarterbacks who both struggled badly. Dillon Gabriel went 1-5 in six starts before a concussion knocked him out in Week 11. Shedeur Sanders, the fifth-round pick who slid out of the first round on draft night and became a fan-favorite cause célèbre, took over and went 3-4. He showed flashes — that 364-yard, four-touchdown outing against Tennessee was real — but also threw 10 interceptions in eight games and posted a 56.6% completion rate.
Neither guy proved he's the long-term answer. The Browns finished 5-12 under Kevin Stefanski, who was promptly fired, and here we are again.
The free agent market at QB isn't going to save them. Green Bay's Malik Willis has started 11 total games in four NFL seasons. Aaron Rodgers is 42. Russell Wilson is cooked. The trade market includes names like Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, and Geno Smith — none of whom scream "franchise reset."
The draft? Cleveland missed out on Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (the consensus QB1 in the 2026 class) thanks to late-season wins over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati that bumped them from a top-three pick. If that isn't the most Browns thing you've ever heard, I don't know what is.
Todd Monken walks into a construction site
Monken's introductory press conference, held February 3 at the Browns' facility, had the energy of a guy who knows what he signed up for. He talked about "running into the smoke" and treating every day like "fourth-and-one." He confirmed he'll call plays for the offense. He acknowledged he hadn't taken the job because of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz — who, by the way, is reportedly furious about being passed over for the head coaching gig and may not return.
"When I was preparing for the Cleveland Browns, I wasn't chipping Jim Schwartz," Monken told reporters. "I was chipping Myles Garrett."
That's a good line. It's also a candid admission that the defense, which finished fourth in total yards allowed, isn't the problem. The offense is the problem. The offense has been the problem. The offense is always the problem in Cleveland.
Monken won back-to-back national championships at Georgia. He turned the Ravens' offense into a top-five unit. He knows how to design scoring systems. But every offensive system needs a quarterback who can run it, and right now Monken has Watson (damaged goods), Gabriel (shaky), and Sanders (interesting but raw) to choose from.
At his presser, Monken was asked about Sanders specifically. He was polite but noncommittal. Expect a quarterback competition this offseason — and probably a new name added to the mix through free agency or trade.
The offensive line is crumbling
This one hurts. Cleveland's offensive line was once the pride of the franchise — Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller anchoring one of the best interior units in the NFL. That era is over. Both are aging free agents. Jack Conklin and Dawand Jones both suffered season-ending injuries. Center Ethan Pocic went down late. The whole thing collapsed.
Berry will almost certainly address this in the draft. Miami's Francis Mauigoa and Utah's Spencer Fano are first-round tackle options at No. 6. If Berry waits until the second round, guard options like Oregon's Emmanuel Pregnon and center Pat Coogan from Indiana could help.
But here's the frustrating part: you can draft a left tackle at No. 6, or you can draft a wide receiver, or you can try to trade up for a quarterback. You can't do all three. Berry has assets, but he has too many holes to fill them all in one offseason. He knows it. He basically said so.
What's actually going to happen
If I'm being honest, the most likely outcome is a quiet free agency where Berry signs a couple of mid-tier veterans on short deals, a draft focused on offensive line and receiver, and another season where the quarterback question remains unanswered.
Monken will install his system. Sanders will probably get the first crack at starting. The defense, assuming Schwartz stays (or someone capable replaces him), will keep things competitive. Cleveland might win seven or eight games — enough to show progress, not enough to matter.
It's the Cleveland cycle. Berry has survived it once already. The question is whether Monken, who turned 60 today (happy birthday, coach), has the patience for a two-year rebuild when his offense might not have a real quarterback until 2027.
Browns fans deserve better than optimism at this point. They deserve a plan that actually works. Berry has the picks. He has the cap space. Now he needs to stop treading water.
Free agency opens March 11. The draft is in late April. The clock is running.
Sources: Dawgs By Nature (Thomas Moore), ESPN (Ben Solak), Cleveland Browns official site, SI.com. Andrew Berry quotes via Browns transcript (2/3/26). Todd Monken quotes via introductory press conference (2/3/26).