Andrew Berry would 'feel fine' even if Browns can't trade Baker Mayfield this weekend

BEREA — General Manager Andrew Berry insisted the Browns aren't going to panic if the weekend ends without a Baker Mayfield trade materializing.

“We’ll feel fine,” Berry said Friday night at team headquarters after Day 2 of the NFL Draft. “It’s something we’ll deal with day to day. The focus is really on the players that we can add to the team, and we’ll deal with that situation as it progresses.”

The Browns had engaged in trade talks with the Carolina Panthers for Mayfield, but the discussions came to a halt because the two sides couldn't agree on how to divide the payment of the $18.858 million guaranteed the quarterback is due next season on his fifth-year option, Charles Robinson of Yahoo reported.

The Panthers then traded up from the fourth round in a deal with the New England Patriots to pick Mississippi quarterback Matt Corral in the third round (94th overall), making a Mayfield deal unlikely for Carolina.

“I wouldn’t comment on any discussions that we have with other teams,” Berry said.

Asked about Robinson's report that talks with the Panthers broke down over money, Berry said, “I wouldn’t comment on any speculation in that regard.”

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The Browns have long been expected to need to pay part of Mayfield's salary to facilitate a deal.

The Browns broke up with Mayfield when they traded six picks to the Houston Texans on March 18 in a controversial move for quarterback Deshaun Watson and gave the three-time Pro Bowl selection a five-year contract worth $230 million guaranteed. They also signed Jacoby Brissett as their backup quarterback and Josh Dobbs to fill the third spot on the QB depth chart.

However, the Browns have yet to finalize their divorce from Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft.

“That’s a fluid situation,” Berry said. “We’ll deal with it day to day.”

Four teams have picked quarterbacks in this draft.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett in the first round (No. 20 overall) on Thursday night. Then in the third round Friday night, the Atlanta Falcons took Cincinnati's Desmond Ritter (No. 74), the Tennessee Titans ended the surprising slide of Liberty's Malik Willis (No. 86) and the Panthers picked Corral.

The short list of options for Mayfield seem to have further dwindled.

“Our focus is really what we’re going to do with our own picks as opposed to necessarily what other teams are doing in the quarterback market,” Berry said. “We had enough to think about on Day 2 with the number of picks we had and the move we made so that was really our sole focus.”

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The Seattle Seahawks — Mayfield mentioned the club as a potential landing spot during an interview on the "Ya Neva Know: You Know What I Mean?" podcast — have not taken a quarterback.

If the Browns don't trade Mayfield in the next few days, speculation will increase about them ultimately cutting him.

Berry has maintained he isn't in a rush to deal Mayfield, though, so it's possible the Browns could hang onto him into the summer to see if a quarterback injury creates a pressing need for another team.

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In the third round, the Browns drafted UAB defensive end Alex Wright (No. 78 overall) and Purdue wide receiver David Bell (No. 99).

Berry said those moves wouldn't decrease the chances of the Browns re-signing defensive end Jadeveon Clowney or receiver Jarvis Landry. Those players and the team have mutual interest in reuniting, their agents told the Beacon Journal last month.

“Any veteran additions would really be independent questions for us,” Berry said.

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Browns General Manager Andrew Berry says 'sweet spot' of NFL Draft was factor in trading down

The Browns entered the draft scheduled to make their first pick in the second round (No. 44 overall), but Berry traded down 24 spots in a deal with the Houston Texans, moving back to the third round, where he took Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson at No. 68 overall on Friday night.

“Each decision in terms of trading up or moving back is largely based on the pool of players that we have on the board at the time,” Berry said. “For us, that decision was made because we did feel like we had a number of players that were graded similarly, and I would say that even in this draft class, we did feel like the sweet spot was more mid-to-late second day and in the middle rounds.

"It's really just how the board fell at some of the different spots that we were targeting. We felt good about the value and adding to the volume of picks that we would have this weekend.”

Berry explained the Browns had talked to a number of teams about moving down or up from No. 44 overall throughout the day. They weren't determined to trade down entering Day 2, he said.

“I think at least how we maneuvered or dictated this draft,” Berry said, “it was really dictated just by circumstances.”

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Andrew Berry would 'feel fine' if no Baker Mayfield NFL Draft trade