Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Baker Mayfield has thrown the ball accurately in practice, despite wearing a harness that protects a torn labrum injury in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. (Cleveland Browns)
Browns: Baker Mayfield’s partially torn left labrum not to blame for accuracy issues
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Browns practice and interviews …
The bad game by Baker Mayfield in Minnesota took on a new life when it was disclosed via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that the quarterback has been playing with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing left shoulder.
The Browns wouldn’t budge, however, in refusing to attribute Mayfield’s repeated misfirings in the 14-7 win to the injury or to him wearing a harness to protect it.
Coordinator Alex Van Pelt said, “I don’t see that on the practice field. I see the accuracy as it usually is on the practice field.”
The injury occurred midway through the second quarter of the Houston game when Mayfield attempted to trip up Texans safety Justin Reid during an interception return. Mayfield received treatment in the locker room and returned for the next offensive possession.
Mayfield was 10 of 11 passing for 103 yards and one touchdown pass plus one TD run after the injury.
The following week, Mayfield was listed on the injury report as a full participant at each practice.
Mayfield was removed from the injury report the week before the Minnesota game, however, and was not on it at the start of this week.
The Browns declined to comment about Rapoport’s news item and the NFL declined to comment on whether the Browns violated league rules by not including him on their injury report. The league frequently makes inquiries to teams regarding their injury reports based on news reports and quotes from players or coaches regarding injuries, and may do so in this case.
Before the injury, Mayfield completed 40 of 49 passes for 81.6 percent. The last two games, he completed 34 of 64 for 53.1 percent. Mayfield’s passer rating has plummeted from 101.9 to 89.7 in that time.
So is the injury, or throwing with a harness, responsible for the dip in accuracy and production? Or the tougher defenses of Chicago and Minnesota? Or is it the return to the lineup of Odelll Beckham Jr., who's had his share of misconnections with Mayfield in 25 games on the field together?
Mayfield opened the door to conjecture on Wednesday when asked whether the harness on the left shoulder impedes his throwing.
“It should not,” he responded
Van Pelt conceded the injury “bothers him … it’s sore, I’m sure. Sleep is probably something that’s tough. But that’s part of the deal playing in the NFL. A lot of guys throughout the course of the year get nicked up and play through it.”
But Van Pelt held firm that not even throwing with a harness is a reasonable excuse for Mayfield’s 15-of-33, 155-yard performance in Minnesota, in which Mayfield misfired for open receivers several times, including Beckham on multiple occasions.
“He wears it in practice. Again, I see him throwing it accurately in practice so I do not attribute any of that to the injury as much as just having an off day,” Van Pelt said.
“Yeah, it can be tough. He said it first -- the game wasn’t up to his standards. That happens in the NFL. I’ve seen some great quarterbacks have a rough day and that’s part of the deal in this business. I expect him to bounce back this week. I have not seen the effects of it in practice so it should not carry over to the games.”
Van Pelt said that if Mayfield had connected with Beckham on two of the misfires “Odell’s well over 100 yards and everybody’s not saying a word. Deep balls are tough to complete. We were just off a hair.”
Labrum injuries are common for NFL quarterbacks, said Van Pelt, who had the injuries in both shoulders in his quarterbacking days.
Quarterbacks frequently play through the injury if it occurs in the non-throwing shoulder, as happened to Mayfield. Last year, Mitchell Trubisky had the injury in Week 4, missed Week 5, and then struggled the rest of the season before repairing it with offseason surgery. Trevor Lawrence participated in his pro day in February with the injury, and then repaired it with surgery before the draft.
Beckham said he’s had the injury in his left shoulder for 10 years. His shoulder popped out, he said, on the second play of his first game back against Chicago, when his jersey was pulled by linebacker Roquan Smith in coverage.
“I tell you, that [injury] hurts,” Beckham said. “He’s tough. It doesn’t feel good. He’s going to go play football. He’s tough.”
Bitonio’s milestone
Left guard Joel Bitonio joins an exclusive list of Browns in their expansion era when he makes his 100th career NFL start. The others are tackle Joe Thomas (167 career starts), defensive end Orpheus Roye (102) and center Alex Mack (101).
(Kicker Phil Dawson played in 215 games for the Browns, but wasn’t technically in the starting lineup to be included in this category.)
Bitonio said it was “pretty cool” that he’ll achieve the milestone in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. He is a native of southern California.
“We are going to have a lot of people there – friends, family, old coaches and things like that,” he said. “I do not really know if anybody knows it, per se, but it is pretty special for me at least to be in front of them and play in front of them.”
Bitonio is the longest-tenured player on the roster. He was drafted by former GM Ray Farmer with the 35th overall pick in 2014. His first position coach with the Browns was Gary Moeller. He’s the only active player who’s blocked for both Johnny Manziel and Mayfield.
Bitonio has been honored as a second team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection the past three seasons, and is considered one of the highest-graded guards in the NFL this year by the analytics sites.
“I feel good. I am turning 30 on Monday so I am getting up there in age, I guess, in football standards,” he said. “I feel like I am in a good place. Again, it really is a privilege and honor to play for as long as I have played and hope that I can continue to do that into the future. I still feel young. I am just ready to go out there and play.”
Brownie bits
Although left tackle Jedrick Wills (ankle) missed practice again, the odds of him making his fourth straight start with the injury increased when sixth man Chris Hubbard (triceps) also missed practice …
Middle linebacker Anthony Walker said he feels great after missing three games with a hamstring injury and is “definitely progressing” to getting back on the field, possibly Sunday. On the Browns’ defensive resurgence in his absence, he joked, “They took that No. 4 off the field, man. No, just the guys buying in and understanding how we can be successful, everybody doing their job, all 11 guys executing the defense. We got a lot of guys stepping up making plays. It also helps that Myles Garrett is getting to the quarterback in two seconds. Well, the whole D-line [too].”
