Jimmy and Dee Haslam speak a centerpiece for Browns at Owners Meetings

On Mar 26, 2023

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam and GM Andrew Berry speak to the media about Deshaun Watson's 11-game suspension during a press conference, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Berea.

PHOENIX — The NFL Combine is seen as a pseudo convention for the league. However, what it lacks is some of the heaviest hitters in the league there.

That won’t be the case this week in Phoenix, starting Sunday, when the league’s power brokers meet up at the Arizona Biltmore for the NFL Owners Meetings. Over the four days in the Valley of the Sun, owners, general managers, head coaches, agents and other important figures will be in one location, setting the course of the next year for the league both on and off the field.

While in Phoenix, many of the most important figures in the Browns organization are expected to meet with the media at various times. That includes owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, as well as general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski.

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For the Haslams, it will be a rare opportunity to answer questions. For Berry, it will be his first chance to talk about the way he has re-shaped the roster so far this offseason. Meanwhile, Stefanski no doubt will be asked about how he envisions the new pieces fitting into place.

As those meetings get underway, here’s a look at three things to watch for as the NFL world gathers in Arizona.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam speak for first time since last August

The last time the Browns owners stood in front of the media and took questions was the on-the-fly press conference back on Aug. 18 after Deshaun Watson’s 11-game suspension was finalized. Since then, the two have been relatively silent with regards to public comments on, really, anything. However, the Haslams are expected to speak to reporters on Monday in Phoenix. A lot has happened since August: The Browns posted a second consecutive losing season, while Watson had an relatively pedestrian six games as the starter. Yet, both Berry and Stefanski never seemed to be endanger of not getting a fourth year together. Beyond the actual football-related questions, there’s also the issue of whether the Haslams want to renovate the current stadium or push for a new one, as well as their reported purchasing of a percentage of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Any more deals to be done by Andrew Berry?

Berry has been quite active over the course of the two weeks since free agency essentially began with the negotiation period back on March 13. Starting with the deal to re-sign cornerback A.J. Green on March 14, the Browns have either agreed to deals with or traded for 16 players. That’s including re-signing players such as Green, center Ethan Pocic and linebackers Anthony Walker Jr., Sione Takitaki and Jordan Kunaszyk. It was a year ago at the Owners Meetings in Florida that the Browns agreed to a relatively under-the-radar deal with Pocic, a deal that turned out to be a fairly significant one by the time the season started.

Is there a similar move or two to be made over the four days in the desert? Stay tuned to find out.

Onside kick or fourth-and-20? One of the 17 NFL playing rules changes proposed

There are 17 proposals that have been made either by an individual teams or the Competition Committee to adjust playing rules.

There are non-descript ones like the Philadelphia Eagles’ proposal to “permit the use of zero (‘0’) as ajersey numeral; (and) to allow kickers and punters to use any jersey numeral between 0-49 and 90-99.”