BEREA, Ohio — For now, Baker Mayfield’s going to play through the pain – and maybe some painful-looking passes.
Cleveland’s quarterback has a partially torn labrum in his left, nonthrowing shoulder that does not require surgery at this time, a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Mayfield, who had his shoulder pop out while he attempted to make a tackle last month against Houston, will continue to play as long as the injury doesn’t worsen, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
It’s possible Mayfield can make it through the season and then undergo a procedure to fix the tear. But nothing is guaranteed and Mayfield’s injury will make him even more of a target, starting Sunday against star defensive end Joey Bosa and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Browns have veteran Case Keenum as a backup to Mayfield should they need him.
Mayfield and the Browns (3-1) had been downplaying his injury. But an awful performance – 15 of 33 with several head-scratching incompletions – at Minnesota last week led to speculation that’s he’s more seriously injured.
On Wednesday, Mayfield acknowledged he’s wearing a shoulder harness and his comment that “it shouldn’t” be impacting his throws essentially confirmed that the injury is altering how he plays.
Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt hasn’t noticed Mayfield’s accuracy bothering him in practice, but knows his QB isn’t healthy.
“Obviously, it bothers him,” said Van Pelt, a quarterback for nine seasons in the NFL and who had labrum tears in both shoulders. “It’s sore, I’m sure. His sleep is probably something that is tough, sleeping on his left side, but that’s part of the deal.
“That’s part of playing in the NFL. A lot of guys this time of the year and throughout the course of the year get nicked up and play through it.”
Mayfield’s injury happened when he tried to make an ill-advised tackle on Texans safety Justin Reid after throwing an interception on Sept. 19. Mayfield led the NFL in completion rate after two games (81.6%), but has dropped to 65.5% and against the Vikings he missed wide-open receivers, twice to Odell Beckham Jr. on possible touchdowns.
Mayfield has not missed a game snap or practice since getting hurt, so by league rules the Browns only were required to put him on their injury list for the first week.
PACKERS: Jaylon Smith appears to be on his way to the Green Bay Packers, one day after the Dallas Cowboys released the veteran linebacker.
Packers Coach Matt LaFleur said that “nothing’s official yet,” but added that he believes Smith is in Green Bay while discussing how the former Cowboy would fit in with the Packers.
“I just think (he’s) a veteran guy who’s played at a really high level and just can bring kind of a mentality and leadership to our defense,” LaFleur said.
“Certainly he’s going to be behind quite a bit, being the fact we’re heading to Week 5 and it’s a totally different system, so there’s going to be a lot of work that needs to be put in, not only from him but from our coaching staff to get him up to speed, but we’ll let him kind of come in here and compete to play.”
LaFleur added that it’s “highly unlikely” that Smith would play for the Packers (3-1) as soon as Sunday’s game in Cincinnati (3-1).
Smith made the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement in 2019 and led the Cowboys in tackles each of the past two seasons, but his play had dipped over the past year. Smith played just 16 snaps in a season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the Cowboys cleared the way for rookie linebacker Micah Parsons, the 12th overall pick in this year’s draft.
The Cowboys released Smith at the same time they anticipated getting linebacker Keanu Neal back after the converted safety missed two games because of a positive COVID-19 test.
FALCONS: Leading receiver Calvin Ridley will not play in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets in London for personal reasons.
After Ridley was not present for Thursday’s practice, the Falcons announced Ridley would not accompany the team to London “due to a personal matter.”
“We are in support of Calvin during this time and will respect his privacy on the matter,” the team said in a statement.
The Falcons will be limited at the position as Russell Gage will miss another game with an ankle injury.
Ridley leads Atlanta with 27 catches for 255 yards. He has only one touchdown reception.
Ridley had seven catches for 80 yards, but had two drops in last week’s 34-30 loss to Washington. On Monday, Coach Arthur Smith described Ridley’s performance as “up and down.”
BRONCOS: Teddy Bridgewater’s chances of playing at Pittsburgh this weekend improved dramatically Thursday when he returned to practice four days after suffering a concussion against the Baltimore Ravens.
Bridgewater worked with the starters and was listed as limited on the injury report. He remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Bridgewater left the Broncos’ 23-7 loss to the Ravens at halftime after taking a helmet to his chin from Ravens rookie pass rusher Odafe Oweh.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
