Berea, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Quarterback Baker Mayfield returned to practice Monday after taking last week’s sessions off to rest a sore hip.
Mayfield looked fluid moving and throwing during the portion of practice open to reporters.
“I thought he looked good today – focused, concentrated, threw the ball well and moved around well,” head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “He is good to go.”
Mayfield suffered the injury in the third quarter of a 32-28 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 13.
The bye week afforded Mayfield, who leads the NFL with 11 interceptions this season and is ranked 33rd out of 35 starting QBs with a completion percentage of 56.6%, time to rest.
In demand – Left guard Joel Bitonio was unaware the Rams tried to acquire him last week from the Browns before settling on Austin Corbett instead.
“I had no idea,” Bitonio said. “Someone sent me a screenshot of Adam Schefter’s tweet [Sunday] but it is what it is. I think GMs probably ask for guys all the time. It’s what it is. The Browns said no and I’m here in Cleveland and I love being here.
“It’s really a non-story from my perspective because it wasn’t like the Browns offered me up.”
The Browns got a 2021 fifth round pick for Corbett, selected 33rd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft but failed to win starting jobs at left tackle and right guard in consecutive training camps.
“Every GM is going to ask around and see who’s available and who’s not available,” Bitonio said. “I think they got a good player. I think he’ll be OK for them.”
Striking similarities – Linebacker Mack Wilson has an idea what Bill Belichick is like as coach of the Patriots thanks to his college experience playing for Nick Saban at Alabama.
“He always referred to him as one of his great friends. He used to tell us a lot about him,” Wilson said. “I feel like they’re both kind of like the same person. I see Belichick on TV and be like, ‘This is Saban all day.’ Both of those guys do a great job of how they run their organization and how they get their guys to play week in and week out.”
Wilson got a little history lesson Monday when told by reporters Saban served as Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the Browns from 1991-1994 and the two have remained close since.
“It’s crazy because they’re both successful head coaches and they’ve been successful coaches throughout their careers,” Wilson said. “For me to play with Saban was an honor and for me to go up against the Patriots is going to be an honor. I’m just going to go out and have fun with my teammates and try to get a win.”
It didn’t take long for Wilson, who saw Belichick visit Alabama several times, to see the similarities between arguably the greatest college coach and NFL coach in modern football history.
“They’ve just got the same personality,” Wilson said.
Cheap shot – Kitchens praised Myles Garrett’s handling of a “fan” punching him last Wednesday in downtown Cleveland after asking Garrett for a picture.
“It says something about his character, of course. Myles has tremendous character,” Kitchens said.
Garrett, who tweeted details of the encounter, reported the incident to Cleveland police, who were able to use the license plate taken down by Garrett to locate the alleged assailant, 24-year-old Richard Perez of Strongsville.
Perez allegedly got out of his car after seeing Garrett in his car to ask for a photo with the Pro Bowl defensive end. When Garrett rolled down the window to take the photo, he was hit in the face.
“I was glad the guy ran, you know? Of course, I was glad he did not get hurt, but Myles Garrett is a good person,” Kitchens said. “It is just sad to see somebody take advantage of a good person like that.”
Garrett told ESPN Monday that he won’t be rolling down his window anymore for fans, and Kitchens doesn't blame him one bit.
“It is sad that we have to talk about things like that, but we always stress for our guys to be careful,” Kitchens said. “But who could ever see something like that coming? You see guys all the time and you see people all the time that are wanting to take pictures or get autographs and things like that. Usually, the other part of it gets reported, right? The guy that won’t spend time taking a picture or [won’t sign] autographs and all that, and then that guy becomes what? He is not really ‘fan friendly.’ You hardly ever see the other side of this, which is just sad that somebody would take advantage of it like that, especially with a guy like Myles.”
Randall down – Safety Damarious Randall was the lone member of the active 53-man roster not to practice Monday.
Randall is dealing with an apparent leg injury, also suffered against the Seahawks in the closing moments.
“It’s a day-to-day thing,” Kitchens said.
Last week Randall said he wasn’t sure what happened that caused the injury and he was unsure if he would be able to play this weekend at New England.
All clear – Defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and returned to practice Monday.
Injury report – DNP: S Damarious Randall (leg)
