Surgery on shoulder ends Mayfield’s season
Baker Mayfield’s broken fourth season with the Browns mercifully ended with a game left. His time in Cleveland could be running short as well.
Mayfield, 26, is sitting out the season finale against AFC North champion Cincinnati so he can undergo surgery on his left shoulder, an injury that affected his performance, contributed to the Browns’ falling short of expectations and might have altered his NFL career.
Mayfield, who played with a torn labrum suffered in Week 2 and a fracture in his nonthrowing shoulder for most of the season, was sacked nine times in Monday night’s 26-14 loss at Pittsburgh.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said conversations Tuesday between Mayfield, his representatives and the team led to the decision to have the operation as soon as possible so he has more time to recover ahead of next season.
“Obviously frustrating for him, but we felt this was the best thing for him right now,” Stefanski said.
The Browns picked up Mayfield’s fifth-year, $18.8 million contract option for 2022, but his erratic and often poor play this season has raised doubts as to whether the team wants to go forward with him.
The team has not approached Mayfield’s agents about a long-term extension, which seemed a certainty after he led them to the playoffs last season. But the Browns were eliminated from the coming postseason while traveling to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
There were junctures this season when the Browns could have rested Mayfield, but he insisted on playing while wearing a cumbersome harness that kept his shoulder from popping out.
Monday’s game was a microcosm of Mayfield’s aimless season. He started 1-for-10, threw a league season-high 10 incompletions in one stretch and took a pounding. However, his two TD passes had the Browns down by five points in the final minutes.
“I kept swinging,” said Mayfield, who finished with 17 TD passes, 13 picks and 3,010 yards. “That’s who I am.”
Briefly: Tennessee outside linebacker Bud Dupree was charged with misdemeanor assault in connection with a physical altercation at a Walgreens hours after the Titans clinched their second straight AFC South title . ... The Jets placed left tackle George Fant and defensive end Bryce Huff on injured reserve, ending their seasons before the team’s finale at Buffalo . ... The Chiefs expect to have left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. back for their game at Denver on Saturday. He hurt his calf muscle during pre-game warmups and missed Sunday’s loss in Cincinnati . ... The Bengals put sacks leader Trey Hendrickson and three other starters on the
COVID-19 reserve list.