It’s still too early to tell if Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield will start Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the initial sounds seem to be giving him a chance. According to this tweet from CBS’ Josina Anderson, Mayfield will practice “in some capacity” Wednesday.
Anderson’s carefully worded tweet indicates it’s unknown if Mayfield will practice in full or just be limited to individual work. Mayfield is battling a torn labrum and broken bone in his shoulder, an injury he played through until last Thursday against the Denver Broncos. Mayfield sat out the game, giving way to veteran Case Keenum, in the team’s victory. That victory hat relied heavily on the ground game.
If Mayfield can’t play, Keenum will earn another start. Keenum went 21/33 for 199 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the win against Denver. Regardless of who is under center, the offense will flow through the run game, especially with the expected return of Nick Chubb, who missed the Browns’ last two games with a calf injury.
In his Tuesday press conference, Tomlin said the Browns’ personality is the same no matter who their QB is.
“Don’t know who’s gonna play quarterback for them,” he said “but much like our last game when we were talking about having a veteran backup quarterback like Geno [Smith], you don’t lose a lot of your personality. I think that’s what really stood out to me watching their last game. They didn’t lose their personality at all. A solid veteran quarterback who’s been a part of the program like Case provides that opportunity for them.
“We’re not overly concerned right now with who their quarterback might be. We’re looking at what it is they do collectively, their run game, their coordinated play-action and misdirection passing game, and how to utilize all the people that they distribute the ball to. We’ve got some big-time challenges in that way.”
Look for a full injury report on the Browns’ tomorrow afternoon.
