BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Baker Mayfield might not be with the Browns in Berea for the offseason program as he awaits his next team, but he hovers in the background until Cleveland can trade him.
Wednesday morning, head coach Kevin Stefanski sidestepped questions regarding the soon to be eventually former Browns QB.
“That’s a unique situation,” Stefanski said. “It’s fluid and we’ll just continue to work through it as we go each day.”
Stefanski declined to say whether the team has asked Mayfield, who is rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn left labrum in January, to stay home in Texas.
“It’s a voluntary program,” Stefanski said. “What we won’t do is we won’t say who’s here and who’s not here. It’s voluntary. The guys that show up, we’re excited they’re here. We’re excited to work with them but guys that were here [Tuesday] might be here Monday. Guys come in throughout the week, so we’re just going to make sure the guys that are here that we’re working hard.”
Stefanski also declined to respond to comments made on a webcast by Mayfield that he felt “disrespected” by the Browns after the organization allegedly told him one thing and did another.
“I am not going to get into the specifics of those types of things,” Stefanski said. “Again, it really is a unique situation, and we will just work through it.”
Mayfield’s replacement, Deshaun Watson, is attending and has begun absorbing Stefanski’s new playbook along with the other two new QBs – backup Jacoby Brissett and Josh Dobbs.
“We definitely have to adapt to our players, and certainly, the quarterback is so important in what we do so we will make we that we do what Deshaun does best and what the quarterback room does best,” Stefanski said. “Those are the things that we are working through as we study and have studied Deshaun, Jacoby and Josh, understand what those guys do best and make sure that we can do that come September. To get there, though, there are a lot of meetings, there is a lot of install and there is a lot of practice that has to occur to ultimately tell you how much we will change.”
The Browns hope to trade Mayfield soon, but a deal may not be struck until the NFL Draft later next week.
Executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry has made it clear he’s willing to wait it out to maximize Mayfield’s value rather than just make a move for the sake of making one.