QUARTERBACK OPTION
Browns GM Andrew Berry avoids talk about Baker Mayfield's future, but he's pleased with QB
Andrew Berry isn' t ready to publicly commit to Baker Mayfield as the Browns' quarterback of the future.
Avoiding any promises one way or another is not a surprising approach for Berry because the new general manager still has the final half of the 2020 season to evaluate while deciding whether to exercise the fifth-year option in May field' s rookie contract, sign him to an extension or neither.
The first overall draft pick in 2018, Mayfield will be eligible for a new deal after this season. Short of the long-term commitment an extension would bring, the Browns must make a decision on the fifth-year option by the first week of May. Picking up May field' s option would cost t he Browns a projected $25 million to $26 million in fully guaranteed money for the 2022 season. As it stands, he's under contract through the 2021 season.
“Honestly, I really don't get too caught up in that type of narrative,” Berry said Wednesday on Zoom about his view of Mayfield's future with the franchise. “All I know is that I think Baker has played well and he has done a nice j ob during these first eight weeks.
“He has allowed us to play winning football. We've had winning football from that position. Expect him to keep doing that over the second half of the year. And, look, we' re going tobe in a good place as a team and organization if that's the case.”
Berry declared in the offseason he expected Mayfield to have “a fantastic year.”
At the time, Mayfield had been working himself into tremendous physical shape after his performance regressed last season, when he operated at the heaviest playing weight of his football life. May field had excelled the previous year and set the NFL single-season record for touchdown passes by a rookie with 27.
So has Mayfield, 25, met Berry's expectations?
“The season is halfway through, but Baker has done everything that we've asked of him during these first eight weeks,” Berry said. “He has shown weekly improvement and done a really nice job within the system.
“He has done a nice job of learning the system and getting more comfortable in the system and ultimately putting the team in a position to win. So we're certainly pleased with it from that perspective.”
The Browns are 5-3 and have a bye Sunday. Berry's big-picture message about the state of the team sounded similar to the stance he took regarding Mayfield.
The way t he Browns must assess May field “takes a lot of nuance,” Berry said, because he's in a new offense. Mayfield has had three full-time head coaches, an interim head coach and three playbooks in his two and a half seasons in the NFL.
Mayfield has completed 137 of 223 passes for 1,514 yards and 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions and posted a rating of 90.9 this season. He has taken 11 sacks.
His 15 TD passes are tied for seventh in the NFL. His seven interceptions are tied for fourth-most in the league. His rating and passing yards are each ranked 25th. His completion percentage (61.4) is ranked 26th.