Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski might care about winning but what is best for the Browns future?
The 2024 Cleveland Browns season was supposed to be about building on the 2023 playoff appearance. The Browns brought back most of their starters, revamped their offense to fit what Deshaun Watson does best and made a couple of moves in the offseason to upgrade the roster.
Failure ensued.
Coming out of their bye week, Cleveland GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski both talked about the goal of winning games. Whether that is because they believe that is best for the team or due to coaches and front office being on the hot seat is an important question.
In the end, the best thing for every team is what brings them closer to contending for the playoffs and a Super Bowl. When evaluating any decision, that has to be the focal point. Sometimes that means tearing it down to rebuild it while at other times it is about continuity.
The best case scenario for the Browns the rest of the year is about what can help them be competitive in 2025:
- Young players like Dawand Jones, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cedric Tillman and others play well enough to answer questions on the roster
- The team shows effort and heart on the field instead of making business decisions
- As much losing as possible
The combination of those three things will set Cleveland up for a successful 2025 season. While losing is tough, if the Browns are doing so while being competitive and giving effort, the loses will lead to a very high draft pick that, again the primary goal, can help the team push toward the playoffs and more next year.
The worst-case scenario for Cleveland is pretty much the opposite but maybe not combined. Any of these three would be a part of the worst-case scenario:
- Veterans late in their careers or on one-year deals are prioritized over younger players
- The team matches the fan apathy with their effort on the field
- Winning enough games to drop out of the top 10 in the upcoming NFL draft but not enough to make playoff talk at least possible (which would require winning out)
What do you think the best-case scenario for the Browns for the rest of this season is? What about the worst? Share your thoughts in the comment section below