Why Andrew Berry should feel threatened by Nico Harrison's firing in Dallas

When you make the worst trade in modern NBA history, you get fired.

That’s what former Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison learned after trading franchise icon Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

But what happens when you make the worst trade in modern NFL history?

That’s up to Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who will be forced to make a decision on general manager Andrew Berry following this season.

Through nine games, the Browns have just two wins. Much of that stems from the 2022 trade that ousted fan favorite Baker Mayfield from Cleveland in favor of controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Watson’s fully guaranteed $230 million deal, plus the three first-round picks it cost to get him, has left the Browns paying for their gamble.

Surviving multiple consecutive seasons without first-round picks has completely hamstrung the overall roster construction. It’s apparently clear that the Browns have holes on their offensive line as well as their wide receiver room.

Haslam took accountability during the preseason for the “swing and a miss” on Watson. But former Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta recently admitted that the trade was an “organizational” pursuit. Many believe that Watson was Berry’s white whale and Haslam signed up for the ride.

During the offseason, the Browns spent plenty of time telling the media that their goal was to win games this season. In fact, Haslam admitted that another three-win season wouldn’t cut it.

It’s the reason why they reunited with Joe Flacco, the unflappable veteran quarterback who led the team to the postseason in 2023.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski also took back control of his offense, promising to return to the scheme that Flacco thrived in during their playoff run.

"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," Berry said before the preseason.

Either the Browns completely lied to the national media or grossly miscalculated where they were at as an organization – because they do not look anything like a team ready to contend.

Over the last two drafts, Berry has selected more quarterbacks (2) than offensive lineman (1) despite the entire starting unit set to hit free agency this spring. That one offensive lineman is interior guard Zak Zinter, who was a Top 100 pick and a healthy scratch on game days.

Another deficiency on the offense is the wide receiver room. Jerry Jeudy looks like a shell of the receiver that eclipsed 1,200 yards last season. The rest of the room is put together with an expired gluestick as Cedric Tillman, Isaiah Bond and Jamari Thrash are not players that enlist any fear in opposing defenses.

The Watson trade has complicated things, but Berry has overturned the wrong stone at every opportunity in pursuit of finding an answer at quarterback.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson was so bad that he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles with a fifth-round pick for Kenny Pickett. Pickett never even took a preseason snap for the Browns before getting flipped for another fifth-rounder.

Then, Berry controversially traded Flacco to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals, where he has turned back the clock again.

Third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel has been a comedy of errors and Stefanski will not even mention fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders by name in his press conferences. As Watson continues to rehab his ruptured Achilles, Stefanski also refuses to acknowledge the $230 million elephant in the room.

Nobody could have anticipated that Watson would have played just 19 games heading into the final two seasons of his record-setting contract, that’s the reality for Berry, whose roster is undoubtedly a victim of the worst trade in modern football.

Haslam, who owns a minority share of the Milwaukee Bucks, might have no choice but to follow in the footsteps of Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont who fired his GM after a trade that set his franchise back several years.