Getty Images
Brown says all he has to say about Baker Mayfield in early March. Coach Kevin Stefanski said yes on Wednesday to the question of whether he still has full confidence in Mayfield as a starter in 2022.
He echoed what general manager Andrew Berry had said the day before about “completely” Mayfield’s expectation of returning as Brown’s starter.
But both left open the possibility of adding competition to the position.
“I think every day these guys understand that this is a challenge,” said Stefanski through Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. “As for the room and things like that, I’m not going to go into that. But I think Baker, all our players understand that this is a race. You get challenged every day. They treat every day as a challenge, so I’m comfortable with how it works.
“But how the rest of the season will go, I think we’ll see.”
Mayfield tore the labrum on his left shoulder in week 2, but played it with a belt. He underwent surgery on January 19. He had the fewest passes (3010), the fewest touchdowns (17) and the lowest passer rating (83.1) in his career, but Stefanski did not use his shoulder as an excuse.
The coach admitted that opponents have eliminated the implementation that made Mayfield effective in 2020.
“It was not the shoulder. “We were not limited in what we did with Baker while he was dealing with the injuries,” said Stefanski.
Browns may open the race for reserve veteran Case Keenum, but cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot says a $ 1 million bonus due March 19 could affect their decision on Keenum. He has $ 8.43 million in 2022.
If the Browns do not sign a quarterback like Mitchell Trubiski to challenge Mayfield, they could return Keaneam for $ 8.43 million, Cabot said.