BEREA — Even Jimmy Haslam would acknowledged the word “patience” wouldn’t be included in how he would describe much of his time owning the Cleveland Browns.
In the months since the Browns’ disastrous 2024 season, however, it’s become the word around the organization. Both Haslam and his wife and team co-owner Dee use the word to describe how they’re approaching the climb out of the mire of a 3-14 season — the third-worst record the team has posted since they bought the team in 2012.
The Browns owners would be the first to also say that the approach was a lesson learned through those early impatient moments.
“Yeah, I think we did a poor job early on,” Jimmy Haslam said before the sixth training camp practice July 29. “Hopefully we’re doing a better job now and, listen, we talk about it organizationally. This isn’t just ownership, but we talk about it — all [general manager] Andrew [Berry’s] staff, all [coach] Kevin [Stefanski’s] staff — everybody is aware of the plan, and that’s how good teams work together.”
The Haslams insist patience is behind their approach to the 2025 season. They’ve repeatedly said, both in speaking at the NFL Owners Meetings in March and again July 29 a week into training camp, that the team is in a multi-year plan. They’re “not going to panic” if the season doesn’t go exactly as they hope.
For Berry and Stefanski, that means the seat isn’t nearly as warm as some would think for the 38-year-old general manager and 42-year-old coach who are both entering year six on the job.
“We’re very supportive of Kevin and Andrew,” Jimmy Haslam said. “Now, do they need to do better? Yeah, but so do Dee and I, you know what I mean? And these are high-pressure jobs they have, but we really like them in their roles as coach and GM, and we really like them as people. And I say this all the time, they’re 38 and 42 years old.”
Yet, at the same time, the Browns are in the midst of a quarterback competition that features a 40-year-old (Joe Flacco), a 27-year-old who’s battling a hamstring injury (Kenny Pickett) and two rookies — 24-year-old third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and 23-year-old fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders. That QB competition is being waged against the backdrop of the team also owning two first-round picks in next April’s draft that could help them select one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 draft class.
The signs right now indicate it’s Flacco, the 18-year vet and former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, who will end up being the starter for the season opener Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. At least in the short term, the veteran certainly provides the Browns their best chance at winning football games this season.
However, Haslam made it clear during his camp conversation he believes it’s important that the rookies be evaluated in a game situation. That’s especially true with the looming 2026 draft question.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Haslam said. “But, I mean, Kevin is aware of that. He knows how important quarterback is, and he and Andrew talk about those kinds of things all the time. It’s a daily ongoing conversation.”
There lies the push and pull of trying to remain patient while also knowing a certain urgency exists to know what the Browns have in the two rookie quarterbacks. Obviously, both will get a lion’s share of the snaps in the three preseason games, starting Aug. 8 at the Carolina Panthers.
There’s still the reality of receiving regular-season game reps as well. Part of that could occur organically — as seems to happen almost annually with the Browns over the last quarter-century — through injury or bad play.
So how exactly does that balance between development and winning happen?
“Yeah, that’s a great question and that’s the challenge in sports because if you’re head coach, you’re charged with winning every week, but you also want to develop young players,” Jimmy Haslam said. “I think Kevin has this period after, I think he calls it the Hungry Dawg period — I might be wrong about that — but after practice where it might be six plays, might be 10 plays that they get plays in or extra work. And I think that’s really important, really important to develop young guys because … with two or three quarterbacks, not everybody, particularly a quarterback, makes it the first year or two. This is a big jump going from college to NFL, whether you’re a quarterback or not. So I think we’re doing a good job there, but time will tell.”
Time, and the Browns’ 2025 record, will tell. It’s a record that could be shaped by how they come out of the gate, with an opening six-game stretch that includes home games against the Bengals and Green Bay Packers, road games at the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers and a game in London against the Minnesota Vikings.
Every one of those teams was either in the playoffs a year ago or was in the playoff hunt right up until the final weekend of the season. Each is also viewed as a playoff contender this season.
The Browns? They’re in a place between development and trying to avoid another disastrous season.
“Now, could we take a big jump in one year? Yes,” Jimmy Haslam said. “But we talk about we’re not going to panic, we’re going to draft good players, we’re going to build through the draft, and next year we have nine picks, including two ones. So that should help us.
“I think you have to realize that we went three years with no ones [because of the trade for Deshaun Watson] and I think at least one of those years we didn’t have a two and maybe two of those years. And that hurts you roster-wise, it just does. And the players that are available in the first round, the chances of them being successful are way better than second. And second is better than third, etc., etc. so we’re going to continue to stockpile those draft picks.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns owners stress ‘patience’ but also ‘absolutely’ need to see rookie QBs in games
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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