Baker Mayfield said he's back to a good mental state after riding an emotional roller coaster in 2019. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Day 1 of Browns training camp …
A year ago at this time, Baker Mayfield was newly married, loaded down with endorsement opportunities and had to shoulder the heavy expectations of a team picked to contend. Not to mention having to deal with the pressure of being the quarterback charged with getting the ball to Odell Beckham Jr.
By the end of the year, Mayfield was overweight and overwrought. The setbacks he suffered on the field were unlike he’d ever experienced before. All of it caused him to doubt himself for the first time, he confided on Friday.
“Absolutely,” Mayfield said on a Zoom call prior to the first training camp practice open to media. “I think that that is one of those things that I talked about with our team, is you have to find that belief and you have to find that confidence within yourself.”
Much of the offseason conversation about Mayfield has been about his work in getting into better physical shape. Improving his mental state was essential, too.
“[I’m] in a much better state mentally,” Mayfield said.
“I wouldn’t say it is a ‘poor me’ type situation. Going and having success all through high school and college and having that standard so high and then the past couple years have been a roller-coaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I am used to. I would say I lost myself not having that success, not finding out what was working.
“I tried different ways of trying to have that success, and I didn’t find it. I lost myself in that, and I wasn’t able to be who I am for these guys on the team. I have told them that, and I told them that if I am not doing that, hold me accountable. Just finding that and getting back to the basics, establish myself in this new system and attack it.”
A fresh start with new coaches and a new offense that should tailor to his strengths has Mayfield excited about the coming season.
“With the moves that we have made, the pieces we brought in and the culture that is being built right now, I think we are really excited to get out there and show that of what we have been building behind the scenes. I am extremely excited about that,” Mayfield said.
“Scheme-wise, I think my attributes match up to what they want to do. Not only that, I think it matches up to our team and the people they have brought in.”
Receiver Jarvis Landry has noticed the change in Mayfield.
“His attitude towards this season is at a heightened level,” Landry said. “It is fun to see him out here. It is fun to see him doing the things he loves with a smile on his face and making plays already. It is good to have him in the building and working with him.”
Mr. Indispensable goes down
Center JC Tretter will be out of action for at least a couple weeks after having a surgical procedure on a knee on Thursday.
Coach Kevin Stefanski would not elaborate, but it was reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that Tretter had ‘scope surgery to remove “loose particles” from the knee.
With less than four weeks before the opener, it’s possible Tretter could miss Game 1 in Baltimore.
“I am not going to get into the specifics,” Stefanski said when pressed about the severity of Tretter’s injury. “I am going to defer to the medical staff. It is a great opportunity for Nick Harris to get a ton of reps. Excited to see Nick out there.”
Harris, a fifth-round draft pick from Washington, is next-man-up and played with the first team in the helmets-and-shorts practice. The only other bona fide center on the roster is Evan Brown, who was signed in March after spending the last two years on the practice squads of the Giants and Dolphins.
In a pinch, veteran Chris Hubbard could play center. But that would stress the depth at offensive tackle.
Juice is back
Prior to practice, Jarvis Landry, who had hip surgery in February, indicated he would be gradually ramped up and would be eased into practice in team sessions.
But he joined the team session on Friday and caught a long pass from Mayfield.
“He looked good,” Stefanski said after practice. “I have been able to watch him progress here over the last couple of weeks. He is doing a nice job. He is not afraid to work. I enjoy watching him out on the practice field. I enjoy having him around the meeting rooms. He is progressing nicely.”
Landry hasn’t missed a game in six NFL seasons and he has vowed to be ready for the season opener. But he admitted the rehab hasn’t been easy during this pandemic.
“It has been very difficult,” he said. “It has been very difficult being that this is my first major surgery ever and quarantine hits and everybody is stuck in the house for a month, two months before I could actually get back to someone getting their hands on me as far as doctors and the treatment that I needed. It was very difficult. A lot more went into it being more than just a physical thing, also mental. I am here now. I am at a stage where I am very close. I am so close to being where I know I can be in order to be able to go out there and help this team.”
Brownie bits
Myles Garrett, aka the $125 Million Man, missed practice with a tweaked hamstring. Stefanski said he was “not overly concerned … I think we will get him back out there soon enough. He is locked and loaded. He just went through the walk-through so he is doing really well.” …
While the return of Rashard Higgins probably gives him a leg up on the competition for the third receiver job, it would be unwise to discount KhaDarel Hodge. More noted for his production on special teams last year, Hodge turned in two good receptions to stake his claim to more time at receiver …
The absence of fans and the bleachers and corporate suites and Puppy Pound was an obvious reminder that of changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a very quiet first day of camp. Noticeably absent, too, was loud music blaring from the Browns’ sophisticated sound system ...