what Brendan – Browns GM Andrew Berry says the most important question for quarterback Brendan Sorsby is what he does after the controversy—contrasting with head coach Todd Monken’s belief players should be “banned for life” for gambling. Berry also points to internal leader
The Browns head coach wasn’t subtle when the name Brendan Sorsby came up.
Todd Monken said earlier this month that he didn’t believe the Browns should be interested in adding Sorsby to their plans, pointing to gambling rules and the punishment attached to them. In Monken’s view, players have been “banned for life” for gambling.
But the conversation shifted with the way Andrew Berry has framed what matters next—especially now that Sorsby is set to apply for the supplemental draft after dropping his lawsuit against the NCAA over his collegiate eligibility.
Berry was asked in an interview with Anthony Lima and Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan how gambling would factor into a player’s evaluation. His answer came in two parts. “I think there are two things,” Berry said. “There are two questions I ask. because we’re all human and I’d imagine everybody that’s on this call and listening to this show. I’m sure everyone has made mistakes. I really ask two questions: I ask, No.
1, is this a bad person, or did they make a bad decision?. And then the second piece is, what are they doing after the fact … to correct the behavior. Is this a pattern of decision-making?. And if so, have they done something to stop the pattern?. Or is this an isolated incident?. Because the reality of it is, we’re all going to screw up. And some, certainly, mistakes are greater in magnitude than
others.”.
Then Berry brought it back to the immediate moment facing Sorsby. “But I think the most important thing in Brendan’s case is what he does from here. Obviously, it’s a great first step to get the help that he needs. But then it’s like, OK, what is around him?. What is he doing to make sure that he can maintain healthy habits moving forward?. So, it seems like it’s a very good start there. Obviously, I don’t know all the details at this point. But I think, probably, within society, so to speak, we could all use a little bit more grace.”.
Berry’s stance also reflects the pressure of the position Sorsby would be trying to play in Cleveland. When he was asked how character concerns connect to how a quarterback leads—how that player becomes the face of the franchise—Berry didn’t focus only on what’s happened. “I also think that probably the more important things are the internal leadership — so how does this player prepare?. How do they relate to their teammates?. Are they coachable to
the coaching staff?. Are they an anchor when there’s tough moments in the game?. Because that’s the stuff that actually makes the biggest impact,” Berry said. “And those are the people, that’s the biggest constituency that the individual has to lead and serve. So. that’s really more the priority than what I would say as maybe the more marketability. [piece of it].“ But you like to have everything. You’d like to have everything, ideally. But
very few players fit that, though.”.
The Browns’ interest—or lack of it—remains the open question on the draft side. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reported on Monday night that the Browns are “unlikely” to bid on Sorsby in the supplemental draft. should he be deemed eligible for it. Still. given how the team has operated at quarterback in recent years. Berry’s comments leave room for the possibility that the evaluation won’t end at the headlines—no matter what the initial reaction from the coaching staff has been.
Andrew Berry Brendan Sorsby Cleveland Browns Todd Monken supplemental draft NCAA lawsuit gambling character evaluation quarterback leadership 92.3 The Fan