MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Meanwhile...



It’s looking more and more like Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson has taken his last live snap of the regular season.

The 2019 MVP did not practice again on Thursday with his ankle injury, making it unlikely that he starts against the Steelers on Sunday.


Jackson has practiced only once since suffering the ankle injury in Baltimore’s loss to Cleveland in Week 14. Jackson was on the field last Wednesday but was moving around with a noticeable limp.

Jackson’s completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,882 yards with 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season.

Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley is on the injury report with an illness, but was a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday.

Receiver Marquise Brown (ankle) and guard Ben Cleveland (head) were both added to Thursday’s injury report as non-participants.

Cornerback Anthony Averett (ribs/chest) and edge rusher Dave Oweh (foot) did not practice.

Offensive tackle Patrick Mekari (hand) was limited after he didn’t practice on Wednesday. Guard Ben Powers (foot) remained limited. Center Bradley Bozeman (illness) was still full.

Running back Devonta Freeman, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, and nose tackle Brandon Williams all received a Thursday rest day.

PFT

 

Which is possible, but it's just as possible that Baker's camp leaked this out. The message gets out and Baker gets to blast the reporting, which makes it a win/win for him.

I'm willing to agree that there may be no truth to it if you're willing to agree that it's possible that Baker is playing both sides of the coin.

And this is obviously true, but there is a wide difference between listening to offers, producing counter offers, and actively asking if a player is available in a trade that may include Baker.

I think it all depends on how much of what is going on internally can be wrapped around the concept of giving Baker a huge sum of money to be the face of the franchise for several years.

If Berry and ownership see him as a potential liability moving forward then I would be surprised if there hasn't been discussions in the front office already on the best path forward that does not include Mayfield.

If they make the determination that their better future may not include Baker (doesn't even have to be fully decided he's gone), then I expect there will be calls made to gauge his value.

That's not the only comment he has made this season regarding the coaching of the Browns.

I think the Browns are on the right pathway to being relevant in the AFC North, more seasons than not. But that future doesn't hinge on acquiescing to one player in the locker room, IMO.

You have a solid GM, a head coach with potential, a roster that is rounded out well but needs some additions and they have set the foundation for a team identity that works in that division.

The Browns are good enough to win without Baker (or damn near in spite of him in Green Bay) and the question needs to be rephrased as to whether or not he is an integral component for continued success.

Maybe, but he played every week that the coaching staff cleared him to. If it really was bad enough of an injury to torpedo the season, and Baker is definitely their guy moving forward, then why would they let him play?

There would be zero upside to that move, especially once they knew they were eliminated from playoff contention for a rivalry game.

 

To be fair, a lot of those guys were all in on Mayfield before the draft happened so they are simply sticking to their beliefs.

I respect it.

I'm going to come back to this because I think you and I can have a longer conversation over Carr, and discussing quarterbacks is one of my favorite subjects.

The Browns ability to get Carr in at sub top level money on a deal that would basically make him the starter for four years would be optimal, IMO. It gives them a player that they can navigate the post Baker year with that likely puts up enough wins to justify the move in the immediate, doesn't cash strap them for the long term, and gives them stability while they look at draft options and potential bigger name free agent quarterbacks.

And the bigger named free agent quarterback doesn't happen if the Browns don't continue to build out the roster.

I agree with the idea that Carr may be a solid improvement on the overall chemistry with the team.

It's tough to really gauge what goes on in the locker room, but we know Baker runs hot/cold depending on the size of the chip on his shoulder.

I think the Browns could probably get a deal worked that would have some offsetting language that would make it so that whichever quarterback had the best statistical season would have an impact on what compensation happens with the picks. Carr plays better, the Browns give up the higher. Mayfield players better, the Raiders do the same.

For the Raiders, this move would be all about putting eyeballs on Vegas. Derek Carr doesn't move the needle. However, hiring Gruden and Mayock absolutely put eyes on the neon signs.

Bringing in Baker would be just as much about having insurance ads with Mayfield dealing blackjack to prostitutes rubbing pennies on scratch off tickets at the new stadium as it would on field production.

 

Let me put it this way...Mary Kay Cabot doesn't "break news". She is usually regurgitating what Schefter or Glazer have already reported... Neither of which have reported anything on this rift between Baker and Stefanski.

Cabot will take ANYTHING that is said by another reporter and fabricate a headliner, only to then say little to nothing in the article about the headliner. She is classic clickbait.. the Queen.

 

Well, if it was Baker's camp that leaked it out, I'm pretty sure Mary Kay wouldn't mind revealing her source.

I don't understand how Baker's camp could leak it to Mary Kay, Mary Kay report it, Baker blast her for reporting their leak and then she doesn't reveal it came from the them.

If you are saying they leaked it to another source, who then leaked it to Mary Kay, then that is shoddy reporting also.

I can't argue with this logic.

If Berry and Stefanski sit down and determine they can improve upon the position, even if that is due to addition by subtraction, then absolutely I would agree 100% with this. If they believe they can improve the position in any way, then I would think their compensation is irrelevant because they have already decided to move on. At this point a trade would make the most sense.

It just goes against everything that transpired this season. They have had so many opportunities to basically push Baker aside. Especially if it was going to cause a rift between Baker and management, which would have facilitated a better trade. Instead they praised Baker for his determination, toughness and rallied behind the fact they still had the best chance to win with him in there..hurt. This isn't a group, imho, that is looking to move on from Baker.

I have heard a lot of comments that would reflect badly on the play of the team, but I don't recall too many others that throw shade on the coaching. The only other one I can recall talked about becoming conservative in the second half of games and how they need to improve that.

Again, mountain out of mole hill. I think the media is making a lot more out of this than is there. The Browns are out of the playoffs and the local media begins their frenzy.

Because they wanted to go to the playoffs and they felt a 75% Mayfield was better than any other option they had. People are looking at this way too deeply. Case Keenum is not as good a QB as Mayfield is. He knows the system, he can fill in easily upon injury, but the plays are not going to be run the same, because he doesn't have the same arm. The play field gets cut by about 20 yards with Keenum in there.

All the talking heads that say this injury shouldn't hurt his play, were not QBs. Every former NFL starting QB talking head has been talking all along HOW it effects his throwing motion and that accuracy would be impossible as long as he was wearing the harness. Everyone knows that the day he tore his labrum, he was going to be less effective. They determined that less effective was still better than every other option they had.

 

There's zero chance a regular, every day beat reporter just pulls this out of thin air. It's easy for the player to call it BS because the player knows the beat reporter's only defense is to give up their source - won't happen.

Could it be an exaggeration? Certainly possible but it's not just something completely made up. Baker had no problem making a public statement about the RT not getting help. He's probably said much more privately - or he thought it was privately.

 

If he's not 100% from the waist down you can't put him out there. It's the straw that stirs the drink. Without it, what's he have left?

 

Kevin Stefanski says he has a “good relationship” with Baker Mayfield



After a disappointing 2021 season, there are plenty of questions about the Browns and quarterback Baker Mayfield going forward.

Mayfield took issue with a report from Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that he may ask to be traded if issues with head coach Kevin Stefanski are not worked out. But the Browns might want to upgrade their quarterback position whether or not Mayfield wants out.


Backup QB Case Keenum will start Cleveland’s season finale against Cincinnati on Sunday, with Mayfield slated to undergo surgery to repair his left shoulder later this month. On Friday, Stefanski was asked in his press conference about Mayfield and essentially said nothing has changed.

“My relationship with Baker is no different [from last year],” Stefanski said, via Zac Jackson of TheAthletic.com. “Good relationship.”

Mayfield completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,010 yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his fourth season for the Browns.

The quarterback situation in Cleveland looks like it will be worth monitoring throughout the offseason.

PFT

 

Yep, agreed. Just read Tyler Huntley will get the start and thats the right move.

 

You haven't been around Cleveland Local Sports much then... Both she and Tony Grossi have been called out multiple times over the years for fabricated stories. It's part of their MO.

She "pulled it out of thin air" based on the national pundits reacting to Baker's comment “When you've got Watt over there and you're not giving your rookie tackle much help, it's not going to be good,” This was an obvious slam to the coaching decision on the offensive blocking scheme for the game. They said basically that Baker didn't agree with how TJ Watt was handled and Mary Kay put out a report that there was a rift between he and Stefanski the next day. I don't think the "sources" magically waited until that very moment to fill her in on a rift.. but you can think what you want.

Baker responded by saying this was fake news.

Now Stefanski has responded that he and Baker have a good relationship. Of course, what else is he going to say? He's trying to get ready for a game that Baker isn't even a part of.. It's a distraction that a bad reporter caused.

 

Yeah like she's "being called out now". I'll take her word over Baker's. It's not like she really went out in a limb and Stefansky danced around the subject prior to her article. Saying something like he tries to work on his relationship with all his players.

You can't possibly know all this. It's your interpretation. And quite frankly it flies in the face of what's been said. Are you telling me Baker is saying this in public but has never addressed it with the coaching staff? That's not realistic.

Yes I read his statement which was pretty vaque - probably by design. I could make a pretty good case Baker is doing a little damage control here. I mean he said, "Don't put words in my mouth..." She didn't.

Even if you really believe this all stems from Baker's comments isn't the fault with him for airing that?

 

I'm certain we are boring everyone in here over this conversation.. I'll end it here.

 

Nope. This isn't as good as stringing Urban Meyer up, but it's not bad. You're welcome to continue.

 

Just my opinion, but she likely doesn't have the length of career she has had if she gave up sources. She has nothing to gain by blowing up a contact (possibly agent, friend or coach).

That would ride with the assumption that they were already convinced to move on from Baker. They probably did view him as the best option to win with, but they also were getting information from the training staff that he was healthy enough to play.

This is a decision that doesn't have to have a conclusion at any point in the season for it to move forward. It can just be a compilation of information towards the end of the season that builds a case for moving on from Baker.

Which I stated previously I would be fine with agreeing on, so long as we both agree that there is just as much possibility that there is an issue that is happening based on Baker's public comments.

But you still have to have the open mind to view it from the standpoint that maybe Baker is the reason they are not winning games they could.

I would also like to add this - If the front office and coaching staff are convinced that Baker is the future of the franchise for the next decade then there needs to be some questions asked about why they would play him in an effort to make the playoffs when it's obvious that his injury may be affecting his play. There is no justification for risking his long term future on a season where he's not going to be suddenly healthy during a post season run.

The more likely scenario is that the coaching staff and management are simply not convinced that Baker Mayfield should be given the kind of contract that makes him the face of the franchise for the next several years and they wanted to gather all the information they could before making a decision. The medical staff said he was good, the player said he could play, so there was no reason to sit him. Evaluate him, make a decision and move forward. That would be the process that needs to be done and it looks like that is exactly what it happening here.

The real problem here is that Baker's play this season could have removed this conversation and put him in the driver seat for contract negotiations. Now, unless he has some kind of unbelievable bounce back year, the Browns are going to be behind the 8-ball. Either overpay for Mayfield via contract or tag, or let him walk in free agency and gain nothing by playing him for a 5th year.

I think enough information has been gathered at this point that the Browns should be able to make the decision, either direction, with a clear frame of mind. Unfortunately, some of what is happening in the media is going to make this a larger problem to sort through cleanly, and I'm not in agreement with you that Baker has played no part in creating that issue.

 

I suppose thats a real possibility that the Browns run him out there for a 5th year, based on his current track record, their may not be a suitable replacement for Baker that comes along and the team may be 'forced' to see what happens next year. Another angle that ive seen discussed is the Browns receiving group... is it more of a problem or at least a heavy contributor to the average play of Mayfield? I dont know.

I dont wanna sound like im bashing the Browns... just conversating.

 

Honestly, i don't. There's nothing to respect about self delusion no matter how a person tries to dress it up or justify it. There's nothing wrong with liking a player out of college and pulling for him, but if you are unwilling to modify your opinion over time in the face of ongoing evidence then you are just a fool who is too weak to deal with reality. My opinion anyway.

Not that the last few days havent been interesting/eye opening. At a time when the wider Browns fanbase seems to be splitting over Baker Mayfield, and he's even had a death threat reportedly, the usual slurpers on here are still slurping. I thought they might be ready to talk more seriously but when they werent i left it be.

But if you ever want a realistic bead on that team you'll get more from dline or i than the Cleveland Bakers fans here.

Always be happy to talk any football subject with you Tim. I'd be interested to see where you'd like to take a conversation re Carr. Indeed QB's are a fav of yours arent they, more so than MLB's perhaps?

Tim thats a fascinating angle i hadn't considered AND a wonderful visual ha! So thanks.

But i have to come back to something similar to what i said earlier, what is the Raiders motivation to negotiate a deal in this way? Even if they were thinking as much/more about off field benefits as on field re Mayfield(an extremely dangerous way to go i'd suggest), they wouldn't overtly base their negotiating position on that principle, they would hide that cos its not something that works to their advantage.

And any attempt by the Browns to frame negotiations in this way can be easily countered. There's the fact Baker has already done so many commercials/endorsements and that they were so tied to Cleveland that his brand is already significantly saturated. Even more importantly, for a player to have off field power they have to actually achieve something on field. Baker's power came from being the #1 overall pick married with a well marketed image as a spunky/firebrand/heart-on-sleeve-everyman type player. But there's a clear law of diminishing returns re the leverage of that. The further you get from draft day the less power it has. Unless he can play great, but Mayfield has never sniffed a pro bowl, hell most would say he's never been a top10 QB.

No, any negotiation the Raiders had with the Browns would be kept strictly to on field performance and in that they have the high ground. Carr is just better than Mayfield. Whether its stats, game film/eye test, the way he conducts himself with team mates/staff. The Raiders have the advantage.

Its possible they could agree something like the Browns give them say a 3rd on top and if Mayfield does play great then the Raiders send back like a 4th or 5th or whatever the following year. But to agree to decide who picks up the check based on which guy settles more quickly in the new city/team/surroundings with all the unpredictable factors that go along with it, that would be extremely foolish of the Raiders.

Not that its impossible! Foolish trades get made in the NFL all the time. The Hopkins trade? Jesus Mary & Joseph. The Darnold trade. Hell even the Jamal Adams trade. I'm not sure Joe Douglas gets the props he should for those btw, but i guess thats another story.

Cheers

 

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — The stakes for Justin Herbert arguably haven’t been higher since he led Oregon to the Rose Bowl two years ago.

The Los Angeles Chargers’ quarterback can carry his team to its first playoff berth since 2018 with a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night, and Herbert is trying to remain even-keeled during his preparation.

“It does come down to this one, and it is super important for us. But every opportunity to go out there and play football is big for us, and I think we’re treating it like that,” Herbert said on Friday after the Chargers (9-7) wrapped up their final practice.

A playoff berth would add another milestone to what has been a super second season for Herbert. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl as the AFC’s starting quarterback and is among the league leaders in most passing categories.

Herbert is tied with Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady for the most 300-yard games with eight. He is also tied for second with 35 touchdown passes (a franchise record) and is third in yards with 4,631.

Besides needing 172 yards to break Dan Fouts’ franchise single-season record, which has stood since 1981, Herbert is 22 yards away from becoming the first in league history to pass for 9,000 yards in his first two years.

 

Did I whiff on an LB take? lol

You’ll have to refresh my memory.

The motivation could come from a lot of different directions, but we need to see who comes in at coach before knowing if it’s even a possibility that Mayfield would be a desired player, or that Carr would not be the preferred choice.

My premise is an open ended one based on realistic possibilities, which I think the Carr/Mayfield move falls into.

the crux of where we would ultimately see it differently (as to what level of possibility) would revolve around your/my view of Derek Carr.

 

Browns reportedly “plan” to move forward with Baker Mayfield



As the offseason arrives for the 18 non-playoffs team, the time has come to device, and to leak, plans. Plans to do this. Plans to not to do that. Tentative positions reached for strategic reasons and at all times subject to change.

That’s the most important thing to remember when digesting the ongoing flurry of reports regarding plans and intentions. The smart teams develop and divulge plans deliberately, not haphazardly. They have a specific goal in mind, and it can be as simple as (in the case of an underachieving quarterback entering the option year of his rookie deal) trying to create a trade market.


According to NFL Media, the Browns plan to keep Baker Mayfield for 2022, the final season of his rookie deal. At $18.8 million, it’s a reasonable salary for a fifth year, giving the Browns a chance to see how he plays before making any firm and final decisions.

There’s a chance they’ve already seen enough, however, and that they intend to explore all options without telling the world that they intend to explore all options. If they’ve decided to move on from Mayfield, they would have no reason to reveal that plan. First, they would hurt their leverage in any trade talks if other teams know they’re done with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. Second, they may not be able to trade him at all. Third, they may be unable to get a replacement on terms they regard as favorable.

That’s the game when it comes to the art/science of negotiating with other NFL teams. The Browns don’t want to start making calls in an effort to find someone to take Mayfield. They want another team to become interested in Mayfield, and to call the Browns first.

Likewise, the Browns don’t want to seem desperate to make a trade or to sign a veteran. There’s a subtlety. A coyness. A detachment that’s needed to get things done the right way.

For the Browns, that starts with getting the word out, through the media outlet they partially own, that they “plan” to keep Mayfield. Then, if they ultimately can’t devise and implement a better approach, they can claim that they planned all along to keep him.

PFT

 

With the playoffs on the line, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan thinks even an injured Jimmy Garoppolo gives him a better chance to win than Trey Lance.

Garoppolo is expected to start today against the Rams even though he’s still dealing with an injured throwing thumb, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.


It became apparent that Garoppolo had been medically cleared to play when the 49ers did not promote backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld to the active roster. Garoppolo and Lance are the only two quarterbacks on the 49ers’ active roster.

The 49ers traded three first-round draft picks to acquire Lance in the 2021 NFL draft, and they still view him as their quarterback of the future. But the quarterback of the present is Garoppolo, and the 49ers hope he plays well enough today to beat the Rams and extend their season.

PFT