Baker Mayfield knows 2020 is a crucial year for him. (clevelandbrowns.com)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
As the Browns’ first practice on the field draws closer, training camp shifts into a more familiar mode. And with that comes familiar conversation about – what else? – the quarterback.
The state of Baker Mayfield has been a frequent topic on Browns Zoom calls. With most precincts reporting, the state of Mayfield is very good as he enters his third season.
“He is doing a very nice job,” coach Kevin Stefanski said on Friday, before dropping the bombshell that he traveled to Austin, TX, in February to get personal with his quarterback.
“From that moment until now, I have been very impressed with Baker,” Stefanski continued. “He is all ball. He understands his role. He understands what we want him to do in this offense. He is doing it on the field. Just watching him get through the cadence and kind of line people up, very impressed with him.”
Last week, GM Andrew Berry expressed similar praise of Mayfield and cited the quarterback’s tone body as evidence of his commitment to his job.
“He came back and added four pounds of lean mass, cut body fat and came back in terrific shape,” Berry said. “I know he is really excited about the upcoming season, and he has done a really nice job of what I would call almost creating community and really bringing guys together, as difficult as that can be as everybody has really been trying to function virtually. We are all really excited about him entering the year.”
Getting to know you
Prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Mayfield invited various teammates to his home in Austin to engage in chemistry-building and pre-OTAs workouts.
New tight end Austin Hooper was among the attendees.
“I definitely think that was kind of the initial spark that really helped our chemistry,” Hooper said.
After the pandemic hit and OTAs and minicamps were wiped out, Hooper returned to Austin and stayed with Mayfield and his wife in the couple’s home for a couple of weeks, he said.
Hooper said he reached out to Mayfield even before he signed with the Browns in free agency to become the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
“Baker, obviously [he is] talented, [and has] a strong arm,” Hooper said. “He has a real competitive fire. Those are the two deals that really made me want to sign here were Baker and just his style of quarterback – him being aggressive, has that swag with him, which I do want. I want to play for a quarterback who has that to them a little bit, and obviously, the arm talent is there. It was a really easy decision for me.”
Stefanski said it’s important for Mayfield to do the things he’s been doing to get to know his offensive teammates.
“That position, your job is to make other people better, No. 1. In order to do that, you really have to get to know guys and you have to know what makes them tick. I think one of his strong suits is understanding his peers, his teammates, and he works at it. That is definitely a strong suit of his,” Stefanski said.
Critical crucial
The way contracts are written for first-round draft picks, the third season is a crucial one. That’s especially true of quarterbacks, of course. The Browns will have to decide by May whether to pick up Mayfield’s fifth-year option in 2022, which would be the precursor to a mega-deal comparable to what the Browns gave Myles Garrett.
Or they could follow the lead of the Chicago Bears, who did not pick up the fifth-year option of Mitchell Trubisky’s contract, turning him into a virtual lame-duck in his fourth season this year.
In a previous Zoom interview, Mayfield referenced to the importance of his third season – to him and to the Browns.
Stefanski felt Mayfield’s commitment to his third season when he visited him in February.
“I will tell you, from that moment until now, I see a very committed football player who is ready to lead and who is excited to play.
“I go back to I think Baker is a really good teammate. I think he really understands his teammates. I think his teammates play hard for him. That just goes back to that thing he has that nobody can put a finger on and that the quarterback position has to have. You have to have ‘it.’ You have to make sure you bring your guys along.
“The No. 1 job of a quarterback is to make the guys around you play better. There are a bunch of ways to do that. It is like the point guard on a basketball team. I just think Baker has embraced all of that since the moment he and I have gotten to know each other.”
Now it's time to see if it translates on the field.