Browns GM Andrew Berry’s next vet WR deal? It would be a risky one

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 20: Brandon Aiyuk #11 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up prior to the start of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi's Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

When the Cleveland Browns hired Andrew Berry away from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 to become their new General Manager, he was given the keys to the franchise. Part of his job duties is to oversee the building of the roster through March’s free agency, plus the college draft in April, and deal with every portion of the roster.

RELATED: TRADE FOR RECEIVER OR WAIT FOR NFL DRAFT?

That means that every player on the team deals with Berry regarding contracts. There are a few players on the current roster who are not a by-product of Berry’s choosing, but the vast majority are being paid by the Browns because Berry personally picked them or negotiated their deal.

Berry has two position groups that are his personal pet subjects. The first is the defensive backfield because he was once a college cornerback.

The second region is the receiver group. The reason is most likely because these are the players he was tasked with trying to corral on game day as a former athlete himself, and he has an immense respect for receivers.

Except for last year’s draft, Berry has selected a receiver in every draft ever since he became responsible for roster building back in 2020. However, his choices haven’t panned out. Here’s a list of the receivers he has selected to date:

2020: Round 6 – Donovan Peoples-Jones

2021: Round 3 – Anthony Schwartz

2022: Round 3 – David Bell, Round 6 – Michael Woods

2023: Round 3 – Cedric Tillman

2024: Round 5 – Jamari Thrash

Only two names remain on the current roster, and Thrash was released last year and then re-signed. Tillman has not provided the amount of production that would be worthy of the third-round slot he was selected in, although a slew of injuries is part of the problem.

With not being able to access good talent at receiver on his own, Berry has traded for veteran talent instead. For three consecutive years, he traded for:

• 2022: Amari Cooper – Dallas Cowboys got a 2022 fifth-round pick and a swap of 2022 sixth-rounders. Cleveland got excellent production out of this trade and gave up very little.
• 2023: Elijah Moore – New York Jets got a 2023 second-round selection, Browns get a player plus a 2023 third-round pick. Absolutely bad trade with little production in the two years before coming to Cleveland, which continued.
• 2024: Jerry Jeudy – Denver Broncos got 2024 fifth and sixth-round choices. Great trade in the first year, then he fell off a cliff in his second year.

So, is Berry in the market for another veteran receiver?

A quick glance at the Browns’ current receiver room looks like this:

• Jeudy has two years left on his three-year extension
• Tillman is entering his final year of a four-year deal
• Gage Larvadain is entering the final year of a two-year deal
• Malachi Corley is entering the third year of his four-year rookie deal
• Thrash signed a one-year deal as an exclusive rights free agent
• Tylan Wallace signed a one-year deal during free agency, but is a return man
• Isaiah Wooden signed a reserve/futures deal
• Luke Floriea signed a reserve/futures deal

The big questions are: Which receiver will Berry draft this year, and which receiver will he work out a trade for?

Each receiver Berry traded for had a current contract with their existing team. Some expressed a desire to leave their NFL club.

Here is another disgruntled receiver that the Browns could be interested in via yet another trade.

Brandon Aiyuk – San Francisco 49ers

6’-0”, 200 pounds

Age: 28

Drafted: 2000, First round pick #25

College: Arizona State

There are rumblings that the 49ers are “expected to explore trading” star receiver Brandon Aiyuk during this offseason. The talented pass catcher requested a trade back in 2024.

Aiyuk signed a four-year $120 extension in 2024 with a guarantee of $76 million with an average annual salary of $30 million. Since then, he has burned just about every bridge he had with San Fran.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has come out publicly and stated that if they could get something of value for Aiyuk, the Niners would consider shipping him off. However, the team isn’t really desperate to get rid of him.

According to NFL insider Dianna Russini, Shanahan mentioned:

“49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said the team hopes the team can get something in return for WR Brandon Aiyuk. He said he’s not sure when that might take place, ‘I know we’re in no rush to do that’.”

It has been a while since Aiyuk was at the 49ers’ facility, and he appears to be stepping away from the franchise altogether. The disgruntled wide receiver is back to full strength after a nasty knee injury he suffered in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, in which he tore his ACL plus his MCL. After surgery, he was placed on season-ending IR.

But that was during the 2024 season. He didn’t play at all last season. Aiyuk remains property of the 49ers, who voided the guaranteed money in his contract for 2026 due to lack of participation. In December of 2025, San Fran placed Aiyuk on their reserve/left squad list.

All during last season, the 49ers were hopeful that Aiyuk would return and suit up. He quit showing up for team rehab sessions altogether and wasn’t around the facilities. But still, everyone in the organization was hopeful he would show up and play.

Tight end George Kittle talked about Aiyuk’s future:

“At this point, it doesn’t seem like he’s coming back. I try my best not to even think about it because I love Brandon. He’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve played with. We have a lot of moments together from his rookie year, every year we’ve played together. That’s the Brandon I remember. So, if I think about the ‘I wish he’d be here,’ it kind of just makes me sad.”

Aiyuk had spent the beginning portion of last season on the physically unable to perform list because of the knee injury. The team kept waiting for him to return so that they could open his 21-day practice window and get him back in practice sessions.

But as December approached, it did not look as if Aiyuk wanted any part of the 49ers’ organization any longer. GM John Lynch stated on a radio interview on station KNBR:

“[Is it] realistic? I’m not sure. Hopeful? Yeah. I think that’s where I’d leave that … We’re a better football team when Brandon is out there, but that’s probably what it is. Hope.”

If the team were to outright cut him, they would take on a nearly $30 million dead money cap charge because of his extension. They have no incentive to just release him if they believe he still has trade value. Few believe he does, but anything is possible in the NFL.

This has been festering for quite some time. Before his contract extension, he attempted to get traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then eliminated several trade offers from other clubs before signing the new deal instead.

In 2023, Aiyuk had 75 catches for 1,342 yards with 64 first-down conversions and seven touchdowns. He had 1,015 yards the season before with eight TDs. And after that big season in 2023, he figured he was worth more than the rookie deal he was still under and demanded a huge raise. There was a huge rift while this was going on between the end of the 2023 season and before training camp of 2024.

But then, as a lot of NFL clubs do, instead of expecting Aiyuk to play out his rookie deal, they eventually caved in and paid him bank: Remember that four-year $120 extension with $76 million guaranteed. Yeah, that deal. But he only played seven games on that contract.

What is known is that the 49ers and Aiyuk appear headed for a divorce. Lynch has come out and stated he doesn’t see the talented receiver returning. Shanahan remains hopeful, but it appears less of a chance each month that rolls along. Then there is the fact that San Fran may not have realistic value expectations and ask for too much.

The 49ers don’t appear to be in any rush to move him.

Could the Browns pull off a trade for Aiyuk?

Although San Fran seems willing to discuss trading Aiyuk, they really have very little leverage. Aiyuk has made it known he isn’t coming back to the team, and he has an injury history. He suffered a hamstring injury in his first training camp, was deactivated because of COVID, and then suffered that knee injury.

He could be traded for draft picks, but nothing in the front end of the draft. Those days have long sailed.

Shanahan discussed an Aiyuk trade recently at the owner’s meetings in Phoenix:

“I don’t have a date for it. But I know eventually it’ll resolve itself. Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that.”

Which, of course, is all Hollywood talk. Shanahan can’t come right out and state that they know he isn’t going to return, and have nothing they can do about it, and would gladly take a bag of footballs for him.

To be factual, the last time Aiyuk wore a 49ers uniform was October 20, 2024. Team owner Jed York remained hopeful that the talented receiver would return:

“I think anything is possible, right? We want to make sure that we have as talented a roster as possible. First and foremost, he needs to get healthy and be able to perform. I think once that happens, he’s a really, really good football player.”

Right now, the only deadline that concerns the Niners is September 1. Aiyuk has a $24.9 million option bonus due.

Cleveland could certainly use Aiyuk’s skills, and Berry loves to trade for disgruntled, talented veterans. Besides, the 49ers would be sending him to another conference, which is always the second rung on the list of “no thank you trades.”

Now, a lot of capital and lowercase letters have been used so far. Plenty of ink and spacebar movements to describe the interaction between the 49ers and Aiyuk.

But what exactly happened between San Fran and Aiyuk? It is anyone’s guess. Really, only Aiyuk knows – and probably his agent. Other than that, the front office and coaching staff in San Francisco are miffed about this interaction. They haven’t been able to pick one spot as the irritation.

By all accounts, he just ghosted the team and stopped responding to anybody related to the team who was reaching out. At one point, it might have been about money when he had that really good 2023 season. But after San Fran paid him bank, and he still wasn’t happy, well, if you can get the answer from his agent, please ask him: Ryan Williams of Athletes First. What’s so unusual is that Williams and Lynch have a close relationship. No, really close – Lynch was the best man at Williams’ wedding.

San Francisco 49ers v Cleveland Browns

It should be noted that Aiyuk has a trade clause in his new deal, whereas he can axe or approve any trade. So, there’s that.

Shanahan stated:

“You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can.”

San Francisco would prefer to secure a trade, recouping anything in return for the receiver. The logic for the 49ers is pretty simple: If another NFL club is interested in Aiyuk’s services, propose a trade. Understand this: Aiyuk has not requested a trade.

And he is completely healthy? There have been posts that Aiyuk quit going to team rehab. This could mean the knee never completely healed. Any projection of Aiyuk coming to Cleveland would have a visit to a Cleveland area hospital first.

When Jeudy first arrived with the Browns, he was able to receive a quick turnaround, which is what Aiyuk could offer as well.

Adding a seasoned veteran to the mix would be advisable. Just imagine the possibility of this new receiver room with Jeudy and Aiyuk on the outside, with whatever receiver Berry drafts early in the slot, with Tillman or Corley as WR4.

Browns offer: 2027 third-round, conditional pick, 2026 seventh-round pick

Cleveland would also want Aiyuk to restructure his deal as there is no way the team is paying an option bonus of that size.