While he hasn’t exactly had a glamorous free agency, Andrew Berry has nonetheless helped the Cleveland Browns by making a number of wise decisions.
The majority have either been depth additions or stand-ins for players who signed deals with other teams. Though he’s performed admirably thus far, it’s acceptable to point out a few mistakes.
Berry has always prioritized other positions over linebacker. It’s not as important of a position as edge rusher or cornerback, but it’s still important. When Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah emerged in 2023, the position had a lot of unmet potential. Despite all of that, supporters were expecting him to be a desirable addition at linebacker in the off-season. I regret to inform you that he signed one of the worst possible players.
Devin Bush, a former first-round choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, inked a one-year contract with the Browns on March 14.
Let’s talk about the few positive aspects of this signing before moving on to the many negatives.
It is a low risk, possibly high performance signing, to start. Bush is a first-round talent and only 25 years old. With 109 tackles in his debut campaign, he came in third in the debut of the Year voting. Although there is some skill there, it hasn’t been properly developed or built upon consistently yet.
The primary issue with this signing is that they might have had a superior alternative for a comparable amount. Merely a few hours after Bush was signed by the Browns, Devin White inked a one-year contract with the Eagles. It was disappointing to see White pass for a first-round flop when, in the eyes of 99 percent of supporters, he was still better than Bush.
Isaiah Simmons was (and still is) available in addition to White. It would have been fantastic to watch Simmons and JOK together. Although his cost would have been higher, it might have been worthwhile. It wasn’t the finest choice for Andrew Berry to go with Bush when he knew that White and Simmons were options.
Ultimately, all we can hope for is that Bush disproves our assumptions and ends up being a valuable asset to the Browns in 2024. Although he won’t start, he should see some rotational and special teams action. Even though Andrew Berry has made a number of mistakes, this one seems like a miss because not every move is the proper one. The fact that Bush’s father, Devin Bush Sr., was a player in Cleveland during the early 2000s is interesting; perhaps this will motivate him even more to perform well.