CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Baker Mayfield hasn’t thrown a football since Sunday’s exhilarating 24-22 win over the Steelers.
Considering it’s Thursday and the Browns have yet to hold a practice for Sunday night’s AFC Wild Card game due to COVID-19 protocols, it’s understandable if one might start to worry about Mayfield and his team’s preparedness for arguably the biggest game the team has played since January 2003.
“It is what it is. There are no excuses,” Mayfield said, “but luckily, we just played them last week so it is not like we are practicing against a whole new defense, essentially is what I am trying to get at. We have to be ready for the wrinkles, but luckily, we have game planned against these guys and everybody is sitting here in the second week in a row preparation for the Pittsburgh defense.”
Mayfield, like his teammates, is relegated to working out at home, by himself.
The Browns worked virtually on laptops, phones and tablets the last two days following more COVID-19 concerns that saw safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. test positive Thursday and be ruled out for Sunday, leaving the Browns shorthanded by yet another starter against the AFC North champions.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski tested positive along with tight ends coach Drew Petzing and DB coach/passing game coordinator Jeff Howard Tuesday meaning they’re unavailable for any on field work they might get this week as well as the game.
Like Mayfield, receiver Jarvis Landry is doing his best to remain flexible and take what has become a dose of bad news daily in stride.
“We have to make the most of these Zoom meetings, out of the walkthroughs that we are doing and out of the time that we have to be able to go over all the details, to be able to go outside, stretch and do anything that can and do it at your home with what you have to be able to try to get ready for this game because this game is happening obviously, despite what we are going through as a team,” Landry said. “I do not think the league looks at is as a disadvantage or anything like that so I think for us, we have to just continue to prepare and get ready to play the game.”
The fact that the game is scheduled for Sunday night could turn out to be an advantage – more time to make up for lost time.
“Whether we have to do things tomorrow if we get in the building or Saturday on the travel day or before the game, whatever it is,” Landry said. “It is an 8 p.m. game so we will have some time to do some things early on in the day. We will see. We are playing everything by ear and making the most of what we can do being away from the building with the circumstances that are going on.”
Ward, Smith Update – Denzel Ward and Malcolm Smith were put on reserve COVID-19 Dec. 31 after testing positive for the virus and whether or not either could play Sunday night remains unclear.
On Wednesday, linebacker B.J. Goodson was activated from reserve/COVID-19.
“We are definitely hoping to get other players back,” defensive coordinator Joe Woods said. “We just have to wait and see what happens. To get B.J. back, he has been a leader and really the quarterback of our defense. It has helped getting those other guys reps. He will come back in and we will put him in, maybe in more of a rotational basis, but it is definitely good to get back player who has played well for us.”
NFL protocols mandate a minimum of 10-day isolation, but Woods didn’t want to speculate.
“We will wait and see,” Woods said. “I do not know what the outcome of that is going to be, but we do have guys who have some experience and got some experience last week playing so I feel like we will be good either way.”
Captive Audience – Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is ready to call plays Sunday night in Stefanski’s stead and he was pretty candid when it comes to his approach and the specter of Stefanski watching from home.
“Just try to do it as well as I can,” Van Pelt said. “I really do not have an approach. Obviously, I have a good feel of Kevin and how he has called it throughout the course of the season. I want to stay true to his beliefs in the offense, and I feel the same way. Obviously, it will be a little bit different just because of the nature. Nobody calls it the same.
Hopefully, it will be very similar. We have had a lot of success offensively.
“My hope is at the end of the game there are not too many times where he is yelling at his TV going, ‘What the heck are you doing?’”
On Guard – Van Pelt declined to say who is in line to replace Joel Bitonio at left guard Sunday night.
“We will see what happens on Sunday,” Van Pelt said. “Do not want to really talk about that right now.”
Michael Dunn appears to be in line to get the call according to Landry, who made the revelation when asked about the loss of Bitonio.
“He is important to our team. He is important to the Cleveland Browns and the history that we have accomplished this year,” Landry said. “It sucks what he is going through to be able to be here for the time that he has been here and now be in this position and he can’t even play the game because of the circumstances. For us a team, obviously, we know how much this game means to Joel and what he would give to be out there.
“That is definitely something that we all have in mind. That is definitely something my man Dunn is going to have in mind playing guard and giving it his best shot out there… This is definitely one for Joel, absolutely.”
With the offensive line depleted, the Browns signed center Anthony Fabiano this week after placing rookie Nick Harris on injured reserve.
Injury report – DNP: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (concussion); LIMITED: RT Jack Conklin (knee), DT Sheldon Richardson (neck), CB M.J. Steward (calf), LG Wyatt Teller (ankle), C JC Tretter (knee); FULL: DE Myles Garrett (shoulder), OT Kendall Lamm (illness), WR Jarvis Landry (hip), CB Tavierre Thomas (abdomen)
**statuses are an estimate