Browns coach addresses Baker Mayfield's future with team

Baker Mayfield isn’t going anywhere, according to Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. For those who think Mayfield does what he wants with a happy-go-lucky attitude, Stefanski said he would push back a little that Mayfield isn’t challenged in the Browns locker room.

“Baker’s a confident player. He’s done it. We’ve all seen him do it, so I don’t think he lacks for confidence,” Stefanski said. “I think this is a great offseason for him to get healthy and then have an offseason together, get him in the building with the rest of the team and work together and try and get better. That’s kind of our focus.”

The play-action and rollout game made Mayfield successful in 2020, which led to the Browns winning their first playoff game since Jan. 1, 1995, to reach the AFC divisional round, but Cleveland’s offensive line had limited Mayfield’s ability to complete those types of plays in 2021. When asked how the Browns can counter that strategy, Stefanski said. “If teams are not going to let you get on the perimeter, there’s still ways to run play action and try and win from the pocket. If they’re not going to let you get on the perimeter, you’ve got to find ways to make them pay from the pocket.”

Mayfield was limited to 14 games this past season, throwing for 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, but was sacked a career-high 43 times. His rating of 83.1 was the second-lowest of his career along with his 60.5 completion percentage. Heading into his fifth season in the NFL, Mayfield has stepped away from social media following the end of the Browns season. Stefanski said he hasn’t talked to his franchise quarterback about the situation.

“I’m not speaking specifically to Baker,” Stefanski said. “You guys have heard me say it before, I think social media can do a lot of great things and it has done a lot of great things for our communities, for young people. There’s also some pitfalls in there that you want to make sure that all your players are aware of those and make sure they’re doing everything they can to put the team first.”

That being said, Stefanski noted that Mayfield is not the definite starter for next season despite holding the job completely through the last three seasons. Case Keenum is the only other quarterback listed on the Browns roster, but with free agency and the 2022 NFL Draft looming, the quarterback battle is wide opening Cleveland.

“In terms of the room and those types of things, I’m not going to get into that necessarily,” Stefanski said. “But I think Baker, all of our players understand that it’s a competition, you’re getting challenged every single day. They treat every day like a challenge, so I’m comfortable with how that goes.

“But how the rest of the offseason goes, I think we’ll see.”